Editorial: Hopes for a new governor to support CUNY

When Gov. David Paterson announced he would not be running in next week's election, students and faculty alike were relieved. After the governor's proposed CUNY budget cuts and plans to dip into the New York State Tuition Assistance Program, New York college students cannot afford another term with Paterson running the show.

CUNY has become one of the biggest educational institutions in the five boroughs. In the wake of the economic crisis, many have returned to the classroom for degrees. When Paterson proposed a $53 million cut to the CUNY budget in October, students and faculty were in uproar. Students have protested year, including last Thursday, when they rallied outside Paterson's office.

With Paterson officially ending his career with the state in January, we need a candidate who will step up for the students. We need more investment in public education, rather than subtraction from our budgets. This begins with the support of our governor.

Paterson put the final nail in his coffin with CUNY when he announced his intent to reduce funding in TAP, affecting an estimated 375,000 students statewide who received a distributed $813 million. That brings Paterson's combined slashes to CUNY to $866 million — almost a billion dollars affecting 23 schools with over 100,000 students combined.

The Ticker reported in February on the matter and spoke with Nancy West, director of Baruch's financial aid department. Calling the reduction "very harsh," she tried to assure students not to worry, since an increase in Pell grants would make up for it at Baruch. Although undergraduates would suffer, graduate students would see a complete loss of this financial aid. CUNY's graduate programs are growing, as is the new CUNY School of Journalism. This action alone shows Paterson's lack of concern for students at this public university.

Whether the candidate is Andrew Cuomo or someone else, they need to provide solutions for the students of this city. Our education cannot afford to have its funding tapped into anymore. Preventing present and long-term problems needs to be the primary concern. As the fall approaches, The Ticker hopes to start seeing campaigns that have a focus on improving our education, and not on subtracting even more of our resources.