BY MARINA GAFT AND TERESSA PACE
The group that rallied around the fountain Wednesday afternoon had a familiar message for Binghamton University: “If you oppose tuition hikes, JOIN US.”
Some passersby stopped to comment, but others joined the chanting group, which reached about 50 students at its height.
The rally, which was hosted by the SUNY Social Justice Conference, was part of a statewide effort to protest Gov. David Paterson’s tuition increase proposals, which could potentially be passed April 1. It was the second such protest at BU this month.
Though SUNY Albany, SUNY Buffalo and CUNY Hunter had planned to conduct a similar rally, according to Mari Pfingston-Bigelow, a member of the Experimental Media Organization/Student Action Collective, they didn’t have enough time to organize one.
“We’re trying to create a SUNY- and CUNY-wide network for everyone to work together in future, for all campuses to get together in solidarity,” she said.
The protesters also focused on the state’s expensive prison system. Andrew Epstein, a senior history major who helped organize the protest, said prisons are receiving more money than SUNY.
“They’re putting education last and we’re saying that’s not right,” he added.
Matt Birkhold, a sociology graduate student who also helped organize the protest, urged passersby not to be “passive receptors” but to “make a difference and stop tuition hikes.”
More people should have joined the rally, according to Samuel Oakford, a junior geography major.
“In times of crisis, we need to remember priorities and can’t give ground,” he said. “Education is a right, not a privilege.”
Some students, however, thought the rally was ineffective.
“It’s just talk,” said Joon Lim, a junior philosophy, politics and law major. “To be effective, you need to talk to the right people.”
Joon said it was necessary to consider the nation’s future.
At 1:30 p.m., the chanting students walked to the New University Union for a community-wide forum on the budget. Speakers included sociology professor Bill Martin, history Ph.D. candidate Carole Linskey, Binghamton City Councilwoman Lea Webb and President of the Graduate Student Organization Jessie Kabwila Kapusula.
Kapusula said the cuts will have many consequences, such as graduate students being hired based on who’s cheaper, not on the quality of their work.
Following this, protesters conducted a mass call-in to the governor and local politicians.
Pfingston-Bigelow said she hoped up to 100 people from BU participated.
When Epstein spoke to a representative at State Sen. David Valesky’s office, he said she told him they had been receiving many calls from college students. A tally of phone calls was being taken, the representative said, and the numbers will be forwarded to the senator.
“I really think it will [have an effect],” Pfingston-Bigelow said. “With all the calls to the media, we’re really letting them know. We’re not just going to have the budget pass without letting our voices be heard.”
New York Public Interest Research Group will be tabling from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday of next week to further spread information on the cuts.