MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MARCH 6, 2014
Contact: Shane Triano: 914.924.0379
Albany, N.Y.- Students from the State University of New York and the City University of New York are planning to converge at the New York State Capitol as part of the launch of the national Higher Ed, Not Debt campaign.
The actions are organized by New York Students Rising, a statewide network of students dedicated to defending public higher education at CUNY and SUNY.
Students across New York - and across the country - are in crisis. Student loan debt is skyrocketing, tuition is increasing, state funding for public higher education is down, federal funding for Pell Grants is down, administrative compensation is going up and up and the prospects for jobs after students graduate aren't there.
However, after nearly two years of planning and organizing, dozens organizations have come together to tackle the crippling and ever-growing issue of student loan debt in America. With over $1.2 Trillion in outstanding educational debt, affecting more than 40 million Americans,New York Student Rising has partnered around a simple message: Higher Ed, Not Debt!
Our demands:
1. Immediate freeze on tuition.
2. Restoration of the $1.5+ billion cut from SUNY and CUNY's budgets. Right now, working class students bear the brunt of the cost to keep SUNY and CUNY open - not state support.
Speakers Include:
Evangeline Byars, Regional Organizer - New York Students Rising
Assemblymember James Skoufis, 99th District (D)
Kevin Stump, New York Public Interest Research Group
Bret Benjamin, United University Professions
Alyssia Osorio, Political Science and Gender Studies senior at City College of New York
Students plan to hold a press conference at 11:30am, followed by teach ins across the Capitol, and cap the day off with a rally in the Capitol. For more information on the Higher Ed, Not Debt Campaign check out http://higherednotdebt.org/
#higherednotdebt
#M6
#nysr
