“We had been led to believe that this year, finally, the needs of public higher ed would be addressed after years of budgets that left CUNY and SUNY behind," said PSC-CUNY President Barbara Bowen. "If this budget rejects the tuition increase but fails to add the money the tuition hike would have produced, it will be a betrayal of Black and brown students. The result would be reduced courses and support; freezing tuition without adding the necessary funds would sabotage students’ chance of success while appearing to support them.” The concerns over the budget for public colleges and universities in New York is especially acute this year following the financial strain put on higher education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
