From Feb. 23 to March 11, students across the SUNY system will take part in a New York Public Interest Research Group-sponsored relay-hike to Albany in protest of Gov. George E. Pataki's proposed tuition hike and financial aid cuts.
The trip to Albany will begin in two locations. Students from Stony Brook University will head west on Feb. 23, and UB will start towards Albany on Feb. 25.
Mike Davoli, head of the UB chapter of NYPIRG, said the organization is protesting Pataki's budget proposal because it would increase SUNY tuition by $1,200 and cut funding for financial aid programs Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) and the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).
Davoli said students from UB will not walk the entire distance between Buffalo and Albany. Since the hike is set up as a relay, once UB students reach Rochester, students from colleges and universities in that area will take over. The relay will continue in a similar manner until the last of the hikers reach Albany on March 11.
Davoli said the hike will conclude with a large rally on the steps of the State Capital Building, which he hopes will be filled with "thousands of students."
The Buffalo portion of the trip will begin with a rally in front of the Student Union at 1:30 p.m. From the Union, hikers from UB will meet up with students from Buffalo State College and Erie Community College as they begin the three-day trek to Rochester.
Davoli said the trip to Rochester would be split into three 25-mile intervals, each taking one day to walk. Since he does not expect students to walk the entire interval, Davoli said NYPIRG is planning on running a shuttle service between UB and the hike location. The shuttle will pick up hikers when they are done with the portion for which they signed up and drop off hikers to take their place.
"On the first day, there will be a ton of students taking part, since we will lead them from the rally right out the door," Davoli said. "Our goal is to have 30 to 50 students helping out with the hike on a consistent basis."
Jordan Leff, a sophomore anthropology major, said he is planning to participate in both the hike and the rally because the tuition hike is going to affect him drastically.
"I'm paying for college on my own," Leff said. "The reason I'm attending a state school is because I can't afford a private one."
"I'll be at the rally, I'm marching on Wednesday, and I'll be in Albany on the 11th," he added. "It's during Spring Break, but it's for a very good cause."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
