“No Tuition Hike! No Aid Cuts!” SBU Students Rally Against Proposed Tuition Hikes
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By Marcel Votlucka
The rally was sponsored by NYPIRG, whose members energetically exhorted the crowd with chants of “No Tuition Hike! No Aid Cuts!” The speakers included Jeff Licitra, USG President pro-Tempore Sam Darguin, and town Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld. They discussed Governor Pataki’s proposed budget, which includes cuts in funding to TAP and EOP of up to 50%.
Licitra lamented the cancellation on this year’s Stony Brook in Albany event, which provides an opportunity for Stony Brook students to meet with and lobby legislators in the state capitol. Darguin talked about how the EOP program helped him to pay for college where otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Fiore-Rosenfeld expounded on efforts to enable Stony Brook students to vote a couple of decades ago. His remarks echoed a central theme of the rally; students, being constituents of those in power, have a responsibility to hold them accountable, especially when it comes to our tax money and how it is used regarding public education.
The speakers each exhorted students to call Governor Pataki’s office to voice their opposition to his budget proposals, and to mobilize fellow students and their friends and families to do the same. NYPIRG, which poured much time and effort into organizing the rally, was thrilled at the response by students. John Mascher of NYPIRG commented, “I’m really pleased that so many people came out and pledged to call the governor, and it’s imperative that all students call the governor and tell him to follow the Assembly and Senate’s lead against the hike and aid cuts.”
The State Assembly and State Senate are poised to reject the budget proposals, but the final decision on this matter is up to Pataki. NYPIRG’s goal is to have SUNY students call the governor’s office to voice their opposition.
Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld also invited students to call him with any questions and comments about the hikes and what students can do to stop it.
Governor Pataki’s office: (518) 474-8390; (212) 681-4580 |
March 30—Several dozen Stony Brook students gathered in front of the Student Activity Center to protest the proposed tuition hikes and financial aid cuts.
Fiore-Rosenfeld in particular described the budget proposals as Pataki’s attempt to “pickpocket-veto students through the restoration of higher education cuts.”