To the Editor,

I am writing to you today to talk about an issue that most students aren’t aware of, that is of the Maintenance of Effort Bill that has passed both chambers of the state legislature. As students, we should all care about whether this bill gets signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. To essentially break down what Maintenance of Effort (MOE) is, is that it ensures that state funding for SUNY and CUNY aren’t less than they were from the previous year. But, as everyone well knows the cost of living on campuses have been getting increasingly more expensive so, SUNY and CUNY need more funding to cover cost’s like energy, inflation of rent, and collective bargaining among professors and the state. Since Governor Cuomo has vetoed this bill in the past, the cost of all this is coming out of our (students) pockets and that is totally unacceptable. The SUNY Student Assembly (SUNYSA) which is the “federal student government” for the entire SUNY system along with its partners at CUNY, have created a petition to ask Governor Cuomo to sign the bill that was passed by both the State Senate and the Assembly. If you feel like students shouldn’t have to pay for the states tab on higher education then sign the petition at www.sunysa.org under “Advocacy”.

In solidarity,

Henry Mehmet Gulergun

Junior, History

SA Congress Rep.