***What We Want***
-Accountability-
We want a public education system for the State of New York that is publicly funded and accountable to our elected representatives, because they are accountable to the people. Because the State University of New York was founded as a public service to the people of New York, we also demand all financial records associated with SUNY Universities, Colleges, and
related funds be made public. Critically, we demand an end to the nepotism that has spread across the highest echelons of leadership in the SUNY system. The recent debacle in the search for an interim president for UB, as well as the controversial expenditures on upgrading and improving Chancellor Nancy Zimpher’s headquarters in Albany are testament to this ongoing problem.
-Accessiblity-
The State University of New York is a public institution, and one of its founding principles is to offer affordable world-class education to the people of the State of New York. Keeping tuition rates under control is paramount to achieving this noble goal. We also demand greater attention be paid to the relationship between our institutions and the city they exist in. UB, especially, cannot continue to isolate itself in the suburbs; we demand greater physical accessibility to our universities through cooperation with the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority to help provide sustainable, cost-effective, and integrated transportation for all students. Finally, we believe that the in state/out of state tuition disparity is counterproductive. Every student who wants to contribute to the intellectual life of the State of New York should be allowed to do so, without being made into a scapegoat when financial times get bad.
-Affordability-
We demand an immediate tuition freeze. It is unreasonable and unfair to ask students and their families to disproportionately bear the financial burden of new SUNY development, when their tax dollars already go into the system. We demand an increase in Tuition Assistance Program funds, as well as other in-state tuition assistance programs, to offset the rising costs of attending SUNY schools. We demand that SUNY takes responsibility to fight against exorbitant textbook costs in every way available, by supporting open access academic initiatives and bargaining with textbook companies for better prices for SUNY students. We believe that state money should be diverted to investing in education on all levels, not just higher education. We demand the state government take responsibility for wasteful tax cuts for the wealthy, nepotism, corruption, and lax enforcement of taxes to benefit the richest New Yorkers as the state education system suffers. We want to remind the leadership of SUNY and our institutions that education should not be treated as a revenue source or economic driver. SUNY has a responsibility to offer a quality education without demanding its students rack up excessive loans. A generation of college students is facing a lifelong financial burden for the greed and ambition of very few.
-Quality-
We believe that funding through the SUNY system is the best way to pay professors’ salaries. The burden of finding grants or private sponsorship takes away from the quality of the research and teaching that the faculty is being paid to do. We reject the increasing use of adjuncts instead of tenure-track professors to teach courses. Adjuncts who are hired should be fully qualified to teach their courses. We demand that the university halt the trend of relying on GAs and TAs to bear the bulk of the workload teaching basic level courses, teaching higher level courses they aren’t prepared for, and saddling them with excessive demands as they attempt to juggle their own lives and work as well.
***Endorsing Organizations***
* Graduate Student Employees Union CWA Local 1104
* United Socialist Movement of the Americas — Buffalo Chapter
* University at Buffalo Students Against Sweatshops
* Buffalo State Students for Peace
* University at Buffalo College Republicans
* United University Professions — Buffalo Center
* Buffalo International Action Center
* UB College Democrats
* Civil Service Employees Association
