New Deal for CUNY: A Second Chance for a Free College Education
Words by Adrian Barroso
Image Courtesy of CUNY Rising Alliance
A campaign is underway to re-establish free college education at CUNY schools. The CUNY Rising Alliance and other partner organizations are pushing this new legislation to increase funding for CUNY. Increasing the budget will allow new resources, improvements to CUNY campuses, an increase in the salary of adjunct professors, and allow CUNY to be free again.
The City University of New York has always been an institution open to providing New Yorkers with an inexpensive education. It once provided access to free education for all New Yorkers until the city’s fiscal crisis in 1976. With the efforts currently underway, this financial support that will play critical roles in student lives may once again come back.
Students and faculty across all CUNY campuses are fighting for the passing of this legislation. Alex Pellitteri, a Hunter College senior, and member of the Hunter YDSA made a speech at Hunter College on March 15, discussing the importance of the New Deal for CUNY. Pellitteri said, “eliminating tuition is the most urgent issue that will help all CUNY students, and making tuition decreases in the final budget will be the first step in achieving this goal.” Pellitteri is a CUNY student who understands the stress that students have to pay tuition at the end of the semester.
Activists throughout the CUNY system are organizing rallies to make their voices heard to make this campaign a reality. Rallies have also taken place in Albany to make sure the fight for this New Deal is heard at a state level. “The main reason we go to Albany is to talk to state legislatures to talk to the people who have control of the budget. We spoke to them in common areas, visited them in their office, and held press conferences, so they can hear from CUNY students directly,” Pellitteri said.
The trips to Albany are taken to make sure these state legislatures are committing to standing up for the New Deal for CUNY or any potential budget cut that could affect the already existing CUNY budget of 500 million dollars. Although there are no city or state officials against the New Deal proposal there has to be commitment being shown by them to make this legislation happen. Pellitteri said, “we have not heard any opposition, the close sponsors of the bill range from people who are socialists, to people who are Trump republicans.”
With the April 1 deadline coming up, the CUNY Rising Alliance is hoping that state legislatures are willing to add to the budget to make a necessary change across the system. Pellitteri said, “one thing everyone should do is contact their state legislature and tell them you are a CUNY student, and you really want them to include the 500 million dollars in the one house budget.” He also added by saying that with the help of students across the CUNY system they can make a significant difference by making this campaign known. “This bill could only pass if we can mobilize thousands of CUNY students and professors,” said Pellitteri.
