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HEARING ON
TUITION INCREASES
CITY COUNCIL / COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
JANUARY 31, 2003
TESTIMONY: JAY APPLEMAN,
PSC CHAPTER CHAIR, QCC:
Hello, my name is Dr. Jay
Appleman. I am a professor of Mathematics at
Queensborough Community College. I am also the PSC Chapter
Chair for QCC. I am opposed to the tuition increase because it
will effectively prohibit
many of our students from attending Queensborough.
Almost all students who attend QCC reside in Queens. Our
student body
reflects the make-up of the borough, which is the most ethnically
diverse in
the nation. Our students come from scores of different
countries, and have
all sorts of backgrounds. For many, attending QCC is part of
the American
dream. It provides access to an education that will set them
on the path to
success.
The vast majority of our students juggle school, work and family.
They are
not just students. They are workers and heads of households.
They already
struggle to meet the costs of their education. Any increase in
tuition
would be a burden on most of our students. However, an
increase of this
magnitude will make it impossible for many of our most disadvantaged
students to continue their education. Our students are
worried. We are
worried for them. Our poorest students, the ones who will be
most affected
by this increase, are the ones who can least afford to cut their
education
short.
And New York cannot afford to cut their education short either.
CUNY is a
long-term investment in our communities. Queensborough Community
College has one of the best nursing programs in the state. We
also have an outstanding business program. Many of our
students study computers and go on to careers in technology.
We have students who graduate from QCC and
immediately enter the workforce, and others who go on to
four-year colleges. QCC often serves as a gateway to further
education.
Our graduates stay and work in their communities. They are
nurses. They
are teachers. They start small businesses. They become
productive members
of their communities, lifting themselves up and lifting up those
around
them. They become part of the tax base. This tuition
increase doesn't just
hurt the dreams and aspirations of individual students. It
destroys the
dreams and aspirations of our students' families and the communities
they
live in! Thank you.
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