Students rally in Albany for more financial aid programs

On Feb. 9, a group of students from both the NYC and PLV campuses at the University traveled to Albany, N.Y. for Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities’ (CICU) Student Lobby Day, where they met with senators to lobby for more attention to financial aid programs in the New York State (NYS) budget.

According to CICU’s Web site, the group includes over 100 independent colleges and universities throughout NYS. Their Web site also explained that over 800 students from more than 50 of these schools as well as public colleges gathered in Albany for the Student Lobby Day event.

The University’s particular group consisted of two students from NYC, four from PLV and the University’s Assistant Director of Government and Community Relations Eric Morrissey, who organized the event.

The group included NYC students freshman Spiridoula Cardona and Courtney Taskowitz and PLV students Crystal Lauren Norwood, Gabrielle Davina Saulsbery, Stephanie Villacres and Melanie Londos. Stella Rojas, who’s son attends the PLV campus, also attended. Cardona explained that the group was invited to Student Lobby Day by the University’s Government and Community Relations department.

At the beginning of the day, President of CICU Laura Anglin welcomed the group. Her address was followed by speeches by NYS legislators, Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, Sen. Kenneth LaValle and Assembly Member Peter Rivera.

Two more speakers, Bill Short and Michael Molina, represented their respective organizations. Short talked about Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at St. Lawrence University. Molina spoke about a few programs at Fordham University including Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP) and America Reads and Counts Challenge.

After these speakers, the CICU students met with representatives to lobby for NYS financial aid programs. Morrissey, along with the Government and Community Relations department, arranged meetings for the University’s group with Sen. Andrew Stewart, Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Deborah Glick.

At each meeting, Morrissey and the students spoke about the need for financial aid programs in NYS including the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). According to CICU’s Web site, the 2010-11 Executive Budget for NYS “proposes to cut TAP by more than $71 million, including eliminating TAP for graduate students.”

“After [Morrissey] explained the technical stuff, the students spoke about the importance of financial aid for college students,” Cardona said about the meetings. “We spoke about how we rely on this aid. We stressed that above all things, education should be [the NYS government’s] first priority.”

Cardona said she felt confident that Student Lobby Day “will affect the senators vote to support TAP.” She explained that the representatives her group spoke with all “expressed that they too feel [financial aid] is a priority.”

She also stressed the importance of getting involved. “We are the voices that influence politics,” Cardona said. “We put these representatives in office and we can take them out.”

She believes that if students really want to affect change, they need to speak up. “If the students at Pace didn’t express their difficulties with paying for college, and the importance of TAP [for NYS residents], then the senators would think that cutting $75 from each student’s TAP reward means nothing,” Cardona said.

Cardona has lobbied previously in Washington, D.C. for “bills that support genocide prevention.” She encourages all University students to get involved and “influence change.”