Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Heather James, Legislative Representative of Professional Staff Congress, CUNY on Financial Barriers for CUNY Students
1:27:04
·
136 sec
Heather James, representing the PSC CUNY faculty staff union, testified about the financial barriers CUNY students face, particularly focusing on transportation costs and unpaid balances preventing re-enrollment. She emphasized the need for free MetroCards and shared stories of students struggling with these issues.
- Advocated for free MetroCards/Omni cards for CUNY students, mentioning a student who plays saxophone in the subway to afford transportation.
- Highlighted how unpaid balances can force students to switch colleges, creating issues with credit transfers and prolonging their education.
- Expressed support for the council's efforts to address these financial barriers, including the MetroCard/Omni pilot program in the budget letter.
Heather James
1:27:04
Hello.
1:27:05
My name is Heather James.
1:27:06
Thank you so much for having me.
1:27:07
This is Alexander.
1:27:10
I am here representing the PSC CUNY, which is the faculty staff union of the City University of New York.
1:27:16
I'm our legislative representative, and I'm representing my home campus of Borough of Manhattan Community College, proudly nearby City Hall.
1:27:25
And unfortunately, my students did have to leave to work.
1:27:29
As we were just saying, many of our students do work.
1:27:33
But I wanted to share a little bit of what their testimony would have been, which will also be written testimony later.
1:27:40
You you all know that I am very supportive as a faculty member and union member of Free Metro Cards Omni.
1:27:49
So I'm happy to hear some of these questions.
1:27:51
And chairman Denowicz, really appreciate all of your advocacy and appreciate you asking the Center for an Urban Future for that number on how much it will cost to do the rest of the students at our community colleges.
1:28:03
I would love to have that number as well.
1:28:05
And I really appreciate the council putting a MetroCard Omni pilot into their budget letter, something we would love to see.
1:28:12
And my students certainly talk to me about that all the time.
1:28:15
Right?
1:28:16
One actually plays the saxophone sometimes at Fulton Street in order to get to campus.
1:28:23
So that that's how she pays for for the rides.
1:28:27
That that is a true story.
1:28:29
But the other thing I want to share was from my student who left and and what he told me was this is the fourth college that he's been to, BMCC.
1:28:38
And one of the reasons why he's been to so many colleges is because he lost a financial aid package at one and then couldn't pay for the semester.
1:28:51
So instead of trying to return to that campus because they wouldn't let him go back, right, without paying the bill, he just decided to enroll at a different college and ultimately came to BMCC.
1:29:06
And this can really start a pernicious cycle for uh-oh, our students.
1:29:13
do want to continue.
1:29:14
They can't always get the credits transferred and it creates quite a mess.
1:29:17
So really appreciate what you're trying to do here.
Gale A. Brewer
1:28:50
So yes.
Eric Dinowitz
1:29:11
You can finish your last thought Who