JORDAN PATTERSON
News Editor
While you were on break from college classes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his plan for free tuition at state universities.
On Jan. 3, 2017, Cuomo stood in front of a podium at LaGuardia Community College with none other than Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders seated behind him as he announced his plan.
“A college education is not a luxury — it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility, and with these first-in-the-nation Excelsior Scholarships, we’re providing the opportunity for New Yorkers to succeed, no matter what zip code they come from and without the anchor of student debt weighing them down,” Cuomo said via the ny.gov website.
Under the name of the Excelsior Scholarship, Cuomo plans to make SUNY and CUNY two to four year colleges tuition-free. Families that make up to $125,000 a year would qualify for this program according to ny.gov.
“If the United States is to succeed in a highly competitive global economy, we need the best educated workforce in the world,” Sanders said according to ny.gov. “With exploding technology, and with most of the good paying jobs requiring more and more education, we need to make certain that every New Yorker, every Vermonter and every American gets all the education they need regardless of family income.
“In other words, we must make public colleges and universities tuition free for the middle class and working families of our country. That is what Governor Cuomo is fighting for here in New York and it’s something I strongly support. I urge New York legislators to pass this enormously important proposal, and become a model for the rest of the nation.”
This plan would include Fredonia in its tuition-free umbrella. President Virginia Horvath released an official statement upon hearing of Cuomo’s plan.
“I’m glad to see New York recognizing the need to make college more affordable for middle-class families,” Horvath said. “Public education should be affordable for everyone, and this proposed legislation addresses the fact that ‘need’ is for the middle class as well. I am supportive of Governor Cuomo’s commitment to encouraging and supporting student enrollment and success at public universities in the state. This investment in closing the gap between tuition cost and family need is an investment in families and in workforce development for New York.”