I am amazed at how the proposed tuition hike is affecting people at this school. Everyone seems to be revved and argumentative. Everyone seems ready to fight the system, write letters to Gov. George Pataki and the school. Under no circumstances would I dissuade people to do such things. I commend everyone who tries to make their voice heard on issues they care about; issues like their tuition.
However, I do want to ask where everyone was when it came time to vote in the gubernatorial race in November. According to the Nov. 8, 2002, Spectrum editorial, "The American Privilege: Voting," only 10 percent of those eligible to vote on campus did in the last election. SUNY tuition was a big part of that race. Other than Pataki, most of the other candidates promised to either maintain SUNY tuition or, in some cases, substantially lower it. These were not issues that were buried, either. In fact, most of the candidates were pushing their position on SUNY tuition because it's a big deal, as you've all demonstrated. It was clear Pataki was going to raise tuition.
Currently, according to the SUNY Web site, 403,000 students attend SUNY schools. If you don't think that 403,000 voters can't affect the outcome of a race for governor, you are sorely mistaken. And, if people saw that SUNY students cared and voted to protect their tuition, candidates might start kowtowing to us a little more instead of pretending they don't exist like many students feel they do now.
So, I suppose the question is: If all of you cared so much about your tuition, where were you back in November?
