CUNY students demand: ‘No tuition hikes! No budget cuts!’

Students and faculty at the City University of New York, in opposition to another tuition increase, held two disruptions at meetings of the Board of Trustees in November. The board had proposed a 5 percent tuition increase, which would amount to $125 more per semester, to begin in the spring of 2011. On top of that, the BOT proposed an additional increase of $500 per semester for the Hunter College School of Social Work. CUNY tuition had already been raised by 15 percent in 2009. Since 2003, tuition has increased 44 percent.

CUNY students disrupt Board of Trustees’ meeting that voted for tuition increases on Nov. 22. Photo: City College Activist

The first disruption took place at a board public hearing on Nov. 5. The hearings are obligatory, but students don’t generally attend in large numbers. Students and faculty organized a press conference and protest outside the hearing to express their anger. Many noted that the information about the hearing had only been released a few days prior because the BOT had no interest in inviting criticism.

There was much security, and protesters were let into the hearing a few at a time. After many BOT policy supporters were let in, a CUNY security guard told the protesters that the room was filled to capacity. However, a student inside the hearing sent information that the room was not filled, that maximum occupancy was more than double the number of people in the room.

Once inside, the students and faculty cheered the testimony of people pointing out the hardships that another increase would cause. A faculty member noted that CUNY was free from 1847 to 1976. There was jeering at tuition supporters; the room erupted in chants of, “Whose school? Our school!” and “No tuition hikes, no budget cuts!” In the middle of the meeting, CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein walked out and refused to return. His walkout drew scorn; many shouted at the board and refused to settle down when so instructed by security and board members.

A student from the CUNY Graduate Center pointed out that the unelected BOT is a board of multimillionaires who attended CUNY when it was free.

On Nov. 22 the BOT had a public meeting at Baruch College to hear Chancellor Goldstein remark on the state of CUNY and to hold a vote on the items discussed at the public hearing.

Organizers had put out a call for a protest both outside and inside the meeting. Students and faculty came from all over the CUNY system to protest, representing Hostos, Bronx, Lehman, City College of New York, Hunter, Baruch, Brooklyn, Borough of Manhattan, John Jay, Queens and LaGuardia.

A speak-out outside the college lasted for 30 minutes before participants entered Baruch, having to go through turnstiles and a metal detector just to enter the building. There were police outside and many security guards working for the New York Police Department.

Once inside, students and faculty sat through the BOT procedure, but after the Chancellor’s address, many began chanting, “They say cut back, we say fight back!” “Sham board, sham vote” and other militant chants. As many as 50 students participated in the disruption, which continued as security began forcibly ejecting participants from the room.

Once many of the students and faculty were in the hall, the remaining protesters led a walkout to show that the BOT had already made its decision and that, because the board is unelected, the BOT processes are not legitimate.

As security forced protesters into elevators, the disruption continued in the hall with chants that drew students out of classrooms. Two people were detained and given summonses to appear in court.

When the protesters got downstairs, another protest was held in the lobby of the vertical campus. As many as 70 people took over the lobby. Baruch students participated from a balcony, cheering and chanting. Security surrounded the protesters, encircled them and violently pushed them out of the building before locking all exits. Only Baruch students with valid Baruch identification were allowed to enter through one opening.

A final speak-out was held outside before the night ended. Someone who stayed inside for the vote said the BOT voted unanimously for the tuition increase.

However, the tuition increase was amended before the final vote. A 2 percent increase was added for the fall, and the chancellor introduced another 3 percent increase to be added at his discretion. Normally the New York state legislature would have to vote on a proposed tuition increase, but the board was given the go-ahead to impose a tuition increase when the last state budget was passed.

The increases represent another attack against working people and their families. The fact that the board is made up of multimillionaires like Kathleen Pesile — former vice president for J.P. Morgan — shows clearly that these attacks are class warfare. Chancellor Goldstein makes more than $500,000 a year and received a $45,000 raise last year. The average adjunct faculty member makes $15,000 a year.

The CUNY system was once deemed necessary to educate workers, but with the scientific technological revolution, imperialist globalization and pitting workers around the world to compete for jobs, the ruling class doesn’t need as educated a workforce here as before. The social wage — of which education is a part — is being eroded as the wealthy and super-wealthy seek to steal public money to line their pockets. Cutting public funding for higher education and replacing it with tuition increases is a part of this erosion.

The actions of students and workers in education, not just in New York but throughout the country, are crucial. Going into next year, when the cuts are expected to be even sharper, determined action is needed to stop the attacks on public education and to fight attacks on the public sector in general.