I am an Accounting and Finance major. I have had more trouble getting into my accounting classes, not my engineering (transferred from engineering to accounting). I tried to sign up 2-3 weeks before classes started and one of my classes was closed already. So I had to drop to a part-time course load this semester and hopefully it’s open the next one.

It hasn’t been easy finding an adviser. I went up to the accounting business finance department and I was greeted by a secretary and I was trying to get advisement and she’s like we don’t really do that here… I talked to a professor and he was like, “you know, I’m not really an adviser,” and he directed me to go online and find the information there. 

I’ve needed other services as well like mental health. I did go a couple times to the counselors. They were very nice to me but they really are there to just give you a referral. They did give me a good referral…but I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. It was expensive. If there were people who would do that here, it would help students a lot, financially.

In terms of physical space in our classes, I have been in a lot of situations where the teacher would give up his desk and people would sit at their desk and the professor just stands up and lectures the whole time. When I first signed up here – I was trying to go to class in one of the elevators [but it malfunctioned and] spit me out into a locked maintenance closet and I was sitting in there for like 20 minutes banging on the door. I eventually had to call 911 and the firefighters came up and opened the door. There were 10 firefighters and NYPD standing outside. Some of these elevators have been out of service for who knows how long.

The biggest reason I had to drop out of the electronics engineering program is because there was no support for people in the program. Any support there was you’d have to hopefully be available during your professor’s office hours, and even then they’re not obligated to do that. The lack of support- the lack of readily available tutors on a schedule that I could make is what led me to drop out of that program and seek something that was my second choice, just because there was nobody here.

I am currently a junior majoring  in communications with a concentration in public relations and double minoring in theater and business. I pay for tuition through TAP and Pell Grants, as well as take out loans to cover the the rest of my bill. After I graduate I plan on attending graduate school at either SUNY New  Paltz or a different SUNY. I am still undecided about that. I plan on paying for graduate school through applying for grants and scholarships.

Right now I am working two jobs, I work at the dining hall on campus and I have a work study job. I don’t depend on money from my parents so usually I pay for my textbooks and food on my own or a split the cost of the textbook with a friend or classmate in the same class as me. I am also a student at the Educational Opportunity Program at my school which has helped me a lot, getting through navigating financial aid. If this program didn’t exist I’m not sure if I would be in college. The EOP program has helped me grow into a strong individual and has offered me tutoring, mentors and advisors that always have my back.

I have been at Queensborough for two years studying music production. I am very invested in my classes but also produce and write my own music and poetry. I want people to see that I am a student, not a disability and actually working toward my goal of one day owning a record label. I am lucky to have great support at home and at QCC.

I do receive financial aid and I make sure I utilize every resource on campus. My advisers for VAPA (Visual and Preforming Arts) academy know me very well and help me to register for classes. I go to tutoring every day for statistics and writing. Everyone on campus knows me because I bother everyone. That is the only way to get help sometimes. My greatest issue here is getting around comfortably. I don’t even go to the student union where the NYPIRG office is because it is actually dangerous for me to wheel myself. 

For me, full funding for CUNY would mean open sourced or cheaper textbooks. Most of my books I can just get in the library, but it isn’t easy for me to get to the library, find a book and study with it for two hours. It is always too crowded and isn’t worth my time, so I just order my books. Also, accessibility could be way better. Most doors are not automatic. The double doors close on me. I’m pretty strong, but yesterday I was struggling to get through a door for 5 minutes! When elevators are broken, that is the worst. I have to leave for my class at least 45 minutes early from anywhere on campus just to make sure I get there on time. An unexpected broken elevator can be a big problem. 

At my local campus of BCC, we have recently experienced budget cuts across departments. This is no fault of BCC, nor is it unique to BCC. Across CUNY, institutions are experiencing cuts. This is a result of the lack of funding from our state government. When the state refuses to support our public institutions, who suffers the most, who is impacted? We, the students. It forces our colleges to recompense for their losses by increasing tuition. At an institution like BCC, and CUNY as a whole, where many of our students require financial assistance such as TAP, when tuition goes up and TAP stays the same, school’s budgets are hurt.

A great example of how students are affected by the lack of support from our state government is what has recently happened at BCC. Amongst the budget cuts, our library hours have been cut. Once again, this is not unique to BCC. Across CUNY, colleges are experiencing short library hours. It’s funny because when I was younger my mother would force my brother and I to go to the library. She would scream, and shout, and force us to go study when all we wanted to do was chill and relax. Yet, here we are today, screaming and shouting for access to the library–to be able to use the library past 5 o’clock on a Friday.

At the core of every academic institution, the library plays a significant role in student success. This wouldn’t fly at an institution such as Harvard or Columbia. How can we encourage a quality education, or 15 credits a semester/30 a year when students don’t have access to the library? This all stems from the lack of support from our state government. We’re not asking for the world, were just asking for access to the world.

I am a sophomore and currently a Liberal Arts major but I plan to become a police officer after I graduate.  I’ve worked with the police for the last two years during the summer and it’s been a real eye opener for me because I barely see any black female police officers there, and that’s something I’d like to change.

Unfortunately, my plans suffered a setback this year.  My GPA is too low to receive financial aid this semester, including the Excelsior Scholarship, but past semesters I did receive aid.   Without the aid my family and I have been struggling to find a way to pay for school out of pocket.  We now are living paycheck to paycheck, and even though there are a lot of things we would like to do, due to lack of funds we can no longer do them.

As a person who was not born in this country, I feel like the system is not set up in a way that enables me to succeed.  For example, I’m doing poorly in my English 151 class and my professor tells me I don’t know how to write to an American standard, but then he doesn’t have the time to teach me how to correct it.  A fully funded CUNY would mean that professors would be able to spend more time with each student, more student services would be available to help students like me improve skills like writing, and I could commit to being a full-time student without burdening myself or my family.