REMARKS
Council Member Eric Dinowitz's opening remarks on pathways to civil service and CUNY student engagement
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3 min
Council Member Eric Dinowitz, Chair of the Committee on Higher Education, delivers opening remarks for a joint hearing on pathways into New York City's civil service. He addresses CUNY students about voting, informs high school seniors about CUNY and SUNY application fee waivers, and discusses CUNY's role in preparing students for public service careers.
- Encourages CUNY students to vote in the upcoming election on November 5th
- Highlights CUNY's waiver of application fees until November 15th and SUNY's waiver until November 3rd
- Emphasizes CUNY's role in fostering public service aspirations and preparing students for civil service careers
Eric Dinowitz
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Thank you to my good friend and neighbor, Chair Del Arosa.
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I'm counsel member Eric Dinwidds, Chair of the Committee in Higher Education, Andy CUNY Alam.
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We are pleased to join the committee on civil service and labor for this oversight hearing on pathways into New York City's civil service.
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Before turning to today's hearing, I wanna speak directly to New York City students for a minute.
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So to our CUNY students, I know many of you are registered and ready to vote on November 5th or even early.
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In our hearing last month, we heard about the many important efforts that CUNY staff and faculty and indeed national organizations have made to talk to you about the importance of voting and getting you registered.
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We also know that registration is one thing and actually voting is another.
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To CUNY students, please make sure you vote early or on November 5th.
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If you haven't already done so during this early voting period or by absentee ballot.
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And for those of you who are eighteen year old, new voters, welcome to our democratic process.
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And now a word to our sees public high school seniors and your families.
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I hope you have already heard this from your teachers and counselors at school, but in case you haven't, CUNY is waiving application fees across all of its campuses.
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Until November 15th.
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So apply now.
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Do not wait.
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SUNY is waiving its application fees for up to 5 colleges until November 3rd.
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So there's another great public higher education option for you.
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This is the savings of $50 to $65 per college application, so please take advantage of it.
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And further, if you didn't already know it, admission to all 7 community colleges is guaranteed for all New York City public high school graduates.
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We are very proud of the 75,000 students CUNY Community Colleges served last year, and we hope to see a lot of you on CUNY campuses next fall.
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And that brings us to today's hearing Transfer Felix Matos Rodriguez wrote in an op ed piece, which I have quoted in the past, that it is CUNY's job to turn out graduates who are well informed, socially aware, and actively engaged in the world.
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Particularly when our society is so polarized.
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He further explains that CUNY must ensure that its graduates are not only prepared to participate in society, but also motivated to make it better.
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And he notes the large number of New York City And New York State public officials who have graduated from CUNY, including me.
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He claimed that CUNY's colleges were the incubators of our public service aspirations.
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It is those public service aspirations that have led and continue to lead CUNY's current students and graduates to pursue a career in civil service in our city.
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Putting CUNY students whether before or after graduation on a clear and certain pathway to a good job contributes to the civic, social, and economic mobility of those students.
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To that end, CUNY offers a wide variety of apprenticeships, internships, and fellowships that help CUNY students and graduates make a successful transition from school to work.
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I look forward to hearing today about CUNY's efforts in engaging students with a couple of programs that do just that.
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And I want to acknowledge my colleagues on a higher education committee who are present.
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We've been joined by council member Brewer.
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I would also like to personally thank Adam Sarapoli, my legislative director, Jenna Klaus, my chief of staff, Sahar Moazami, the committee's counsel, Regina Paul, the committee's policy analyst, and Ali Stauffer, the committee's financial and analysts.
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Back to you, Chair Del Arosa.
