Following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s mid-semester decision to indefinitely discontinue in-person CUNY and SUNY school classes, many questions have been raised regarding how – if at all – schools ought to go about reopening in the Fall. To address these questions, Queens College organized and convened a planning committee consisting of faculty members considered especially well-equipped to chart the course of the school in the coming months. The Queens College Ad Hoc Working Group on Reopening, as it is called, was formed with the purpose of “planning for reopening physical use of campus space for academic instruction and other in-person activities with an emphasis on the Fall 2020 semester,”…
-
-
After Government Shutdown, Cuomo Delays Payments for CUNY/SUNY Students
On Dec. 22, 2018, the United States federal government entered a shutdown period that lasted until Jan. 25, 2019, running slightly longer than a month. During that time, all “non-essential” government personnel were forced to work without pay, if they chose to work during this time at all. For some college students, this state of affairs spelled trouble for their ability to continue funding their studies. The shutdown affected various factors of students’ abilities to pay their tuition. Some students are dependents of government employees, who could not continue providing financial support with their main source of income cut off; of course, this applied to any students working for the…
-
NYPIRG calls for tuition freeze to help CUNY and SUNY students
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a plan that included a “rational tuition” plan for CUNY and SUNY schools in 2011 to increase tuition by $300 every year until 2016. On the same day, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher praised the section of the SUNY2020 plan and said she believed it would provide an “opportunity” for SUNY schools to create a “stronger, more competitive New York.” “[I]n signing the NYSUNY 2020 bill, Governor Cuomo has instituted fair, rational, and predictable tuition reform in New York State, providing peace of mind for SUNY students and their families,” Zimpher said. Organizations such as NYPIRG are calling for an immediate tuition freeze to ease the burden…
-
Experience and Action Defines NYPIRG Members in Albany
The New York Public Interest Research Group at Queens College and other students and NYPIRG members from across CUNY, marched to Albany on March 12 for Higher Education Action Day, where they discussed education with politicians. Jaqi Cohen, Adam Garfield and Enrico Purita, the project coordinators of NYPIRG, along with other members, helped organize the event. Their goals were to ensure that students, who represented their congressional district, were able to speak with their representatives on important legislation to help students. Affordable education and the DREAM Act were important topics that were discussed by students and representatives alike. “The DREAM Act was reacted positively among politicians and students,” Garfield said.…
