For decades, CUNY has not received the money needed to maintain and improve our campuses. While this situation has started to improve, there are still many problems with our classrooms and other campus facilities.
Every year, CUNY requests State and City money to address health and safety needs and keep our campuses in good repair and up to code. And every year, Albany and City Hall respond with budgets that don’t prioritize our working and learning conditions. Yes, there’s always some money for critical maintenance and capital improvements in the final budget, and our hardworking staff do the best they can under the circumstances, but it’s never enough. You know. Just look around.
That’s why PSC chapters at Bronx Community College, Brooklyn College, Hostos Community College and Lehman College are taking part in the national #ReclaimOurSchools day of action on October 6th. Organized by educators, students and parents in 200+ cities, this social media campaign will publicize desperately needed repairs and upgrades. Please snap a few quick cell-phone photos of leaky ceilings, damaged walls, busted equipment—anything that needs fixing—and share them starting Oct. 6th on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #ReclaimOurSchools. (Email photos to [email protected] if you’re not on social media.)
You can commit to help by “going” to the #ReclaimOurSchools Facebook event . Spread the word by using both the invite and share tools on the Facebook event page and by printing and posting one of these fliers: Bronx, Brooklyn, Hostos [pending], Lehman.
The PSC will use the images to demand more State and City investment for CUNY. The University needs more funding for Critical Maintenance in its Capital Budget and more funding to ensure adequate staffing levels and resources for campus maintenance in its Operating Budget.
