KRYSTYNA PORTUGUES-KLOS
Staff Writer
The capital of New York State is the target for the Students For Fredonia and United University Professions (UUP), where they will go head-to-head with legislators and discuss the program cuts that perplex Fredonia’s student body and faculty.
Four members of the Students for Fredonia (SFF) organization explained in full detail what the Albany trip entails. Sophie Myers, a psychology major with minors in creative writing and sociology, and Abby Tartaro, a psychology major with minors in sociology and human services are co-presidents of the group.
SFF’s goal is to help students bring a voice to the legislators that hold the decision for more funding in their hands.
The trip is scheduled for Feb. 12-13 of this year, and over 50 students and faculty members have signed up to go, with transportation and hotels provided by UUP.
In Albany, they will talk to legislators about how Fredonia has received so little funding that it can’t even cover the debt that the school has.
The funding is not promised until there are signs of progress, which means that, according to President Kolison’s “Roadmap to Financial Stability,” they will get the funding they need after 13 programs are cut.
SFF members will center their discussion with legislators around how cutting the programs will not save the school money, and how the funding has stayed the same for the last 13 years. The effect of inflation means that stagnant funding actually results in 40% less money given to the school each year.
Other schools, including Stony Brook University, University at Buffalo, SUNY Albany, and Binghamton University, are receiving a lot more funding. These four colleges are what SUNY calls “university centers.”
The difference between Fredonia and these other schools is that university centers are huge in the fields of research and development. Most of the money goes to these big research schools because they generate more profit, and compared to Fredonia, are making much more, especially in the scientific and medical fields.
The profit-based focus of the funding means that the amount colleges receive is less about the academic needs of students, and more for the generation of revenue for SUNY.
Mason Fuller, a social studies adolescent education and ethnic & gender studies double major, and Ben Evans, an animation & illustration and writing double major are co-vice presidents of SFF.
Fuller stated that, “Higher education can not be about money, … otherwise there’s no point to it.”
Both Evans and Fuller believe that Fredonia is a good school to have because students from farther towns who may not be able to go to schools like Stony Brook or University at Buffalo have the opportunity to attend a more cost-efficient and closer school.
Having a smaller college also provides more one-on-one help and stronger connections with faculty and professors, which can greatly impact a student’s motivation and quality of education.
Fredonia, as well as other smaller higher education institutes, offers social mobility, and opportunities that can be harder to obtain at huge universities like Stony Brook and Binghamton.
Myers stated, “The cuts are ridiculous — Fredonia is a liberal arts college and they are cutting many of the arts programs.”
She believes that for a school that has its arts in their own separate building with multiple stages and theatres, it is a little absurd for nearly half of the visual and new media arts programs to be cut.
The trip to Albany will be a turning point in the fight for the saving of programs, and she said Fredonia students will not let up until their voices are heard, for both faculty and students.
RESOURCES TO INCLUDE:
Abby Tartaro: Specifically for taking statements from students tart8897@fredonia.edu
Students For Fredonia email: studentsforfredonia@gmail.com
Students For Fredonia instagram @students.for.fredonia