Local colleges head into 2010 with uncertainties - James Goodman, Democrat and Chronicle

Brian Hartle is a State University College at Geneseo student worried that his education is being compromised by state budget cuts. He protested Gov. David Paterson's visit to the Geneseo campus last March after he learned that the state would keep most of the $620-a-year tuition increase. He protested again in November after Paterson announced $90 million in cuts to State University of New York. "We are being neglected," said Hartle, 21, a senior from Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County. During the past two years, Geneseo has endured reductions of $2.6 million in state funding. To cope, the school has left a dozen faculty positions vacant.