CUNY marches in Queens for New Deal
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CUNY Professional Staff Congress President James Davis joined an action Saturday calling for more robust funding for the system. Photo courtesy of Professional Staff Congress
By Rachel Vick
Hundreds of members of the City University of New York community, allies and elected officials took to the streets of Queens over the weekend to call on the state to support the New Deal for CUNY and fully fund the university.
Marching from LaGuardia Community College to CUNY Law School before ending at Court Square, the group aimed to bring attention to their fight for an additional $313 million to support the school system.
“Underfunding CUNY doesn’t make dollars or sense,” said PSC/CUNY President James Davis. “CUNY has proven repeatedly to increase students’ economic mobility and provide economic returns for the city and state, where most students live and work after they complete their degrees. Yet underfunding has been the norm for far too long, and the faculty and staff we represent at the PSC have been asked for too long to do more with less.”
“Now the opportunity exists to support CUNY students – the majority of whom are people of color, immigrants, and the first generation in their families to attend college – in the way that they deserve,” Davis added. “This is the moment for a bold and transformative investment in New York City’s historic public higher education system.”
The New Deal for CUNY would make CUNY tuition-free, set minimum faculty- and staff-to-student ratios, raise pay for adjuncts and improve infrastructure. The additional funding would support the employment of more than 1,000 additional full time professors, add mental health professionals and freeze tuition rates.
Per-student state funding for CUNY colleges has fallen 38 percent since 1990 and 18 percent since 2008 with inflation, according to PSC.
CUNY was a free university system from its founding in 1847 until 1976, when the city’s fiscal crisis caused the system to begin charging students.
CUNY Rising Alliance Groups including NYPIRG, CUNY University Student Senate, and NY Communities for Change were on hand to continue their fight for funding. They emphasized the value of the university system for equity and upward mobility.
CUNY staff, students and those existing in the overlap between the two have been pushing for the passage of legislation and financial support, with many of the issues exacerbated as a result of the pandemic.
“The New Deal for CUNY is beyond a budget request, it provides HOPE for all New Yorkers including immigrants and low-income communities,” said CUNY Rising Alliance Campaign Director Remysell Salas. “CUNY serves as a lifeline to many students and families, providing access to higher education and the opportunity to climb the social ladder and follow their dreams.”
A number of elected officials — including CUNY alumni Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and former faculty member Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas — spoke in support of the requests.
Among them was Comptroller-elect Brad Lander, who called for “an end to austerity budgets that shortchange our young people and educators."
“At a time of economic anxiety and change, investment in CUNY and the opportunities that public higher education provides points the best way forward for an inclusive and just recovery,” he said. “It's time for a New Deal for CUNY.”
The Senate bill, sponsored by State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, is currently in committee.
