Suny Student Assembly Leaders To Advocate For Students’ Priorities In Albany Budget Negotiations

ALBANY, NY – SUNY Student Assembly President Alexandria Chun and Executive Director of Policy Brennan Gorman will travel to Albany to meet with legislators and advocate for SUNY students’ priorities in the ongoing budget negotiations.

President Chun and Executive Director Gorman will be meeting with Speaker of the Assembly Heastie, Assembly Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Higher Education Committee Chairs Assemblymember Fahy and Senator Stavisky, in addition to Senator May, Senator Griffo, Assemblymember Smullen, Assemblymember Walker, and Assemblymember Eachus.

The SUNY Student Assembly is deeply concerned about the proposed tuition hikes in the Executive Budget, which would place an undue burden on SUNY students and their families. The organization strongly opposes these increases and will urge legislators to reject them. We are encouraged by the Senate and Assembly’s opposition to the proposed tuition increase, as stated in the one-house budget.

Additionally, the SUNY Student Assembly is calling for an increase in operating funds for SUNY by $250 million, in lieu of a tuition increase. While the Assembly has proposed a $200 million increase, specifically allocating $4 million to services to students with disabilities and $1 million for student hunger programs, the Senate has proposed a $151 million increase overall. The SUNY Student Assembly believes that this funding is crucial to ensuring that SUNY can continue to provide high-quality education to its students.

Furthermore, the SUNY Student Assembly will advocate for the proposed increase to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) eligibility by the Assembly and Senate in the one-house budget from $80,000 to $100,000. However, the organization believes that this increase is not enough and will call for a further increase to $125,000.

President Alexandria Chun said, “We are proud to represent the over 1.2 million students of the SUNY system and are committed to advocating for their interests. We urge legislators to listen to our concerns and prioritize the needs of SUNY students in the upcoming budget negotiations.”

Executive Director of Policy Brennan Gorman said, “We are here to ensure that SUNY students have a voice in the budget negotiations, and we will not rest until their needs are fully addressed. Our students deserve access to affordable, high-quality education, and we are committed to fighting for their rights and interests every step of the way.”

About the State University of New York Student Assembly (SUNY SA):

The Student Assembly of the State University is the official student government organization representing SUNY’s 1.4 million students by which SUNY students can participate in University-wide governance. We provide a forum for consultation and the exchange of information between students, the Chancellor and the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York.

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