Letter to Editor

November 20, 2003

Oneonta Daily Star
102 Chestnut St.
Oneonta, NY 13820

To the Editor:

United University Professions' position on tuition hikes is that they are the symptom of a larger ill: a university system that is not adequately funded and supported by public dollars.

The State University of New York (SUNY) has been hurt by years of bad budgets and a Board of Trustees that continually abdicates its responsibility to serve as SUNY's advocate. UUP has taken the lead in that advocacy role by seeking the state funding needed to achieve stability and maintain quality at SUNY.

To avoid a slide in quality, SUNY's trustees must start acting as advocates, which is what I said at the Oneonta membership meeting on which you reported Nov. 19. Unfortunately, the trustees have not given any indication that they are going to start taking a larger advocacy role, a fiduciary responsibility they have failed to fulfill year after year.

The bottom line is that there is not enough state support for SUNY. Students have been articulate and outspoken in their stand against using tuition increases as a way to offset the shortfall. UUP, meanwhile, has fought for the funding needed to stabilize the University and to assure academic quality and access.

UUP, our students and all true advocates of SUNY recognize that, for the public university to meet the needs of New Yorkers, it must have sufficient public resources. Only by increasing its investment in SUNY will the state ensure that students don't end up paying more for less.

William E. Scheuerman
President
United University Professions