Facing Budget Cuts and Tuition Increases, Students Take Action

With the current economic crisis in America, spending is low and saving is high. During this recession, public education is suffering. Lay-offs, tuition and fee hikes, privatization, and budget cuts threaten public education from to pre-K to adult education. This means there are decreased student services, increased class sizes, and students going into debt or even dropping out because they cannot afford to attend institutions anymore. Purchase students have begun to take action and fight for their education. On Wednesday, Feb. 3, a meeting was held about what has been happening in the midst of the recession to the college. It was the first step on the path towards plans for March 4, the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.

According to Jordyan Mueller, a student and activist, New York state has “enacted a $90 million cut to the SUNY system which has resulted in tuition hikes and budget cuts equating $1.75 million here at Purchase alone and will only continue to increase. This is a very deeply rooted issue that goes beyond simply budget cuts or tuition hikes.” Inspiration for the protests stemmed from the efforts in California that began last September. Students facing similar cuts and tuition increases held one-day strikes and organized actions that lasted from November 18-20, the time of the University of California Board of Regents meeting. In concurrence with the efforts of California, Purchase students are devising local goals to alleviate the economic pain burning through many a wallet. The five issues highlighted in the meeting included transparency, privatization, tuition hikes, budget cuts, and student representatives on the Board of Trustees. On the issue of transparency, student Gracie Janove said, “If we’re not informed we’re not going to be able to participate” in the protests against the reforms. In order to attain such a transparency, student Tara Kutz brought a proposal to have a student on the Board of Trustees. “It’s really important to have a student voice on the panel that is making all these decisions,” said Kutz. Until March 4 arrives, there will be meetings every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the commuter lounge in Campus Center North.