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Q&A
Proposal to train advisers for assisting with Fair Fares applications
1:02:37
·
71 sec
Council Member Eric Dinowitz and Jeff Rhodes discuss the possibility of training advisers or other staff to help students apply for the Fair Fares program. They explore the challenges and potential benefits of this approach.
- Dinowitz suggests that advisers who help with course registration could also be trained to assist with Fair Fares applications
- Rhodes acknowledges the idea's merit but expresses concern about limited resources and the priority of academic advising
- The discussion highlights the tension between addressing students' transportation needs and focusing on academic support
- Both agree on the need for more advisers, but differ on how to prioritize their roles
Eric Dinowitz
1:02:37
Right.
1:02:37
And that's where I I I think even some might say that about signing up for courses in college.
1:02:43
It could be very onerous, and that's the value of something like an adviser, which is why in, you know, past budgets we've pushed for funding for more advisers.
1:02:52
And so just like advisers help students apply for classes or counselors help students apply for classes, couldn't they be trained to help students apply for fair fares, right, in sort of
Jeff Rhodes
1:02:51
Right.
1:03:06
a step to get to free MetroCards for all?
1:03:09
I hear you.
1:03:10
I agree.
1:03:11
But if we have any money for advisers, we're gonna use it for academics, not for MetroCards.
1:03:16
Right?
1:03:16
I mean and we don't have enough advisors to really serve all our students to begin with.
1:03:22
So there's long lines, and I'll I'll leave it to the people that actually you know, I'm the government guy.
1:03:27
Right?
1:03:27
So what what do I know?
1:03:29
But the bottom line is, believe me, we we would love more advisers to to specialize in this and to help with this.
1:03:38
But we'd love to have a a deeper conversation off the record about, you know, what we've done so far and how we could use your help in unraveling the bureaucracy.