We asked Binghamton University to do something to combat the budget cuts ordered by Gov. David Paterson — and with the SUNY Student Assembly’s fall conference this weekend, we’ll all have the chance to be part of that something.
Through a campaign called “Many SUNYs, One Voice,” the SUNY SA hopes to send a unified message from all 64 SUNY campuses to the state government, signifying our displeasure with this recent round of cuts (see Page 1). They plan to achieve this by distributing pre-written letters to Gov. Paterson to students, who will only have to sign their names, and holding a SUNY-wide rally on Oct. 28 and 29 on each individual campus.
As a plan to garner the media’s attention we think it has definite potential, especially if coordinated correctly.
If even 100 students participate at each campus — not unlikely, given the size of the student body at many SUNY schools — the rally would be 6,400 students strong, spread throughout New York state. If the program is well publicized, it could be even bigger. Such a unified stand means more than separate gatherings at different campuses, and sends a very definitive message: We don’t accept that our schools should bear the brunt of this recession.
No one is arguing that the money needs to come from somewhere, or even that SUNY should bear part of the cost, but the system cannot take much more.
More than almost any other issue, budget cuts affect us directly. The amount of money available to the school dictates everything from the classes we take, to the professors teaching them to funding for the clubs we participate in. And that’s not even counting the biggest impact of all — on our pockets, if tuition goes up again.
It is up to the University and the SA to organize this event for us, and they’re doing their part. All that’s left is for us to do ours, and that means taking the time to sign the petitions, spread the word and attend the rally. This isn’t something we can simply ignore and leave to others; our participation is necessary. As BU is where the SUNY SA will meet to put this plan in action, we especially should shake off the apathy and participate.
And if nothing else, it’d be nice to see our school in the headlines for something positive.