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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Daniel Reden, Chairperson of University Student Senate, CUNY
1:30:22
·
136 sec
Daniel Reden, representing over 245,000 CUNY students, advocated for increased support for students facing financial challenges, particularly emphasizing the need for free public transportation. He highlighted the importance of local action to address student needs and the progress CUNY has made in providing resources like food pantries and open educational materials.
- Stressed the struggles of young people to afford basic necessities, including education and transportation
- Highlighted CUNY's efforts to address student needs, including food pantries that saw over 200,000 visits in 2024
- Advocated for free MetroCards for CUNY students as part of a broader push to fully fund the educational experience and remove barriers to college completion
Daniel Reden
1:30:22
Thank you, chair Dinovitz, and it's a pleasure to be to be here again in front of you in front of the higher education committee, in front of the supporters of CUNY here today.
1:30:30
My name is Daniel Redden.
1:30:32
I have the honor of serving as the chairperson of the University Student Senate and as a student trustee at CUNY.
1:30:38
Today I stand before you representing over 245,000 CUNY students across our 25 campuses and students who are unwavering in their pursuit of higher education despite numerous challenges.
1:30:50
We are living through unprecedented times.
1:30:52
I'm part of a generation of young people who are struggling to afford housing, food, education, transportation, in short.
1:31:00
I'm also surrounded I'm just surrounded by young people who are just struggling to live.
1:31:04
On top of that, higher education has been besieged by budget cuts at the state and federal levels for some time, and we all see the pace at which things are changing and accelerating.
1:31:15
We see how quickly things can change in a hundred days.
1:31:18
I know that it's difficult to ignore all the noise coming from outside New York City.
1:31:22
I'm not suggesting that we just downplay the seriousness of our national struggles, but I'm suggesting that we remember something that I heard many legislators say, which is that all politics is local or think globally and act locally.
1:31:34
And so in spirit of that old and sage advice, come before you today to ask that we do more to support our students because if we all live together, the load gets lighter.
1:31:45
In recent years, CUNY has made great strides in addressing students needs as a level of need continues to rise.
1:31:51
Every campus hold hosts a food pantry.
1:31:53
In 2024 alone, that those food pantries sold over 200,000 visits.
1:31:58
We have educate resource centers remain a critical touch point for emergency support and we also have open educational resources that have grown which allows students to access zero cost course materials since day one of classes.
1:32:13
But over the past couple of years, University Student Senate has taken the lead in advocating for free public transportation for CUNY students.
1:32:20
We recognize that you cannot begin to learn until you arrive at a CUNY campus.
1:32:24
This is part of our much wider advocacy to fully fund the educational experience in CUNY and providing free MetroCard to CUNY students would remove a quiet but persistent barrier to college completion.
1:32:35
Thank you for your continued support for CUNY students.