Our campus is already underfunded, and the budget cuts will make it a hundred times worse. From not having enough toilet paper to not having enough professors to not having enough classes, budget cuts endanger our ability to get a decent education.
These are the words of Lucy Parks, a student organizer in Students for Educational Rights and a recent transfer student to the City College of New York. Their words echo those of the hundreds of students frustrated by the $14.6 million budget cuts announced early this semester.
City College, home to over 15,0000 students, has long strayed from its days as the "poor man's Harvard," as many of its students now feel the impact that the school's budget cuts have on their educational resources. Public universities are often seen as the middle ground for obtaining a high-quality education without the high price. However, these budget cuts, as part of state legislation, make it harder and harder for students to receive the kind of education they pay for and deserve in return.
Alyssia Osorio, a political science major and one of the lead members of Students for Educational Rights, argues that students are forced to carry the weight of this financial burden that is not their doing. "Students have jobs, work full-time, and yet we're expected to wait three hours in offices that don't even help us," she says. "It's unfortunate that campus life at CCNY is diminished due to administrative mismanagement, and that the college is getting less resources due to the college not taking responsibility for this mismanagement."
Students are not the only ones that are greatly affected by the cuts. Osorio mentions, "We have a GoFundMe for our arts and humanities department!" The budget cuts affect the courses available to students, salaries given to professors, and the ability to create a prolific department that services students needs. This dynamic makes students and professors feel generally unsupported. "Being a student means exploring different theories and ways of thinking, but if we're taught by overworked professors in over-crowded classrooms, it's a miserable experience for everyone," Osorio explains.
But City College students have never been known to sit back and allow something like this to happen without a fight. On Tuesday, November 10th -- coinciding with the International Day of Action for the Fight for $15 -- City College students are planning their own Day of Action. "This is a first and very important step in getting the administration and student leaders to understand that students are responding to the gravity of this situation and are not ignorant of how they will be hurt by the cuts," states Tammie David, Vice President of the Undergraduate Student Government and a dedicated student organizer. Much like the action for the Fight for $15, this direct action on the City College campus aims to join City College students as a collective to express grievances and struggles as a result of economic injustices that students are expected to shoulder by administration.
A number of clubs, departments, and organizations have come together to create this Day of Action, spearheaded by Students for Educational Rights. Other groups include the Gender Resource Center Campaign, Undergraduate Student Government, Student Worker Solidarity at Columbia University, Women's Studies Department, and much more. The Day of Action starts at 11 a.m. with a community meet-up at West 125th St. & Adam Clayton Powell, where protesters will rally in solidarity with Fight for $15 demonstrators and Columbia University students, and then march together to the City College campus. At 12:30 p.m., in front of the Administration Building, speak-outs and teach-ins will commence with sponsoring groups discussing the specific impact that the budget cuts have on campus life until 2 p.m.
Osorio offered these words to encourage all members of the City College community to take part in the action: "These things get better when we fight them visibly. To protest is to say it's not okay. If they're not going to listen to us, then we need to listen to each other, we need to show up for each other, and we need to commit to putting ourselves on the line. It's not enough to complain to your classes. If you're going to take action, you need to do it now." If you cannot attend the entire action, still come out for a portion of it. This campus is your campus. Make sure it remains so.
Take the time to join the Facebook event page and let others know about the importance of this action!
