A group of students have begun an initiative they call “Take Back Our Education” to raise awareness and voice opposition to the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act.

The bill, proposed by Gov. David Paterson on Jan. 19, would grant discretion to SUNY and CUNY schools to set differential rates of tuition for their campuses and programs and grant them greater freedom to contract with private businesses and lease property.

The Empowerment and Innovation Act has broad support from SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, the presidents of the colleges and universities, including Binghamton University President Lois DeFleur, and the SUNY Student Assembly, which passed a resolution on March 20 endorsing the legislation.

But student support is not universal, as evidenced by the Take Back Our Education campaign, organized by both undergraduate and graduate students at BU.

“We’re upset at the direction in which SUNY is going,” Kevin Josephs, a junior with a individualized major, said. “This bill goes completely against the ideal of affordable public education, available to everyone.”

Josephs said that a primary concern of those opposed to the legislation is the possibility that allowing schools within the University to vary in tuition would result in an emphasis on fields relating to profitable industries over liberal arts.

According to a press release from the governor’s website, the act would institute a “rational tuition policy,” whereby tuition increases would be reasonable and predictable, and help make SUNY a “center of job creation” by allowing its schools greater freedom to form contracts with private organizations for goods and services, and thus remain competitive economically.

Pedro Dipietro, a graduate student in the philosophy, interpretation and culture program, said that he and other PIC students started mobilizing with various student groups, against the Empowerment and Innovation Act and state budget cuts to SUNY after funding for PIC was slashed.

“We want to make it [the campaign] viral, and get mass numbers of people to take a stand to prevent these harmful changes from being enacted,” Josephs said.

However, according to Jennifer Jensen, the associate dean of academic advising for Harpur College and an assistant professor of political science, these efforts might not be entirely necessary.

“I’m not optimistic that this bill will go anywhere,” Jensen said. “The legislature is in no way anxious to pass a budget.” The budget was due April 1, but it has yet to be passed.

Jensen expressed her disappointment at this scenario, because she believes the Empowerment and Innovation Act’s reforms would be significantly helpful to Binghamton and SUNY.

“We’re one of the most regulated public school systems in the country … Other states provide greater latitude towards higher education, entrusting university administrations to make reasonable spending decisions,” Jensen said.

Jensen also supported implementation of the rational tuition policy.

“The administration and faculty want very much for the University to stay affordable, but that interest has to be weighed against costs of quality,” she said.

According to Jensen, the rational tuition policy would allow increases to be logical and capped, rather than in large spikes that could take place in any given year, as they have been in the past.