The_Rambler_1990-09-12

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Volume 61. Number 2 SUNY College of Technology at Formingdale September 12,1990 flamblep
The Mqndat^ Student Health Fee...Yes, Another Fee !
UBRAHV/SERIALS Dti^l.
By Joe Puccio
On September 6th, 1990 there was a press confer-ence
held at SUNY Stony Brook where students and
student representatives voiced their concerns about a pro-posed
mandatory $50.00 Student Health Feeto be insti-tuted
throughout the SUNY system. The press conference
was attended by News 12, Long Island News and New-sday,
as well as reporters from several local student news-papers.
Students from 9 SUNY
campuses along with the Student
Association of the State Univer-sity
(SASU), were the center of
attention at the conference as each
took a turn and explained his/her
own views on the Fee. Each person
stated a grievance toward the pro-posed
Student Health Fee as well
as their reasons for wanting to see
it defeated.
Among the speakers were
Dan Slepian, President of the Stony
Brook Polity, Elizibeth Chute,
SASU Executive Vice-President,
Bessie Ortega, Co-Chair of the Na-tional
People of Color Caucus,
Anita Eliot, Vice-President of
Campus Affairs at SASU, and Tom
Pye, Junior Representative at S tony
Brook.
There were numerous ar-guments
opposing the Fee which
included the fact that the 65 page
study (submitted by Albany's Vice-Chancellor of Student
Affairs Frank G. Pogue (518) 443-5137) conducted to
determine the quality of health care here at Farmingdale,
was completed without any input from the students who
interact with the infirmary. In addition this Fee will NOT
improve services or help hire new personnel, nor will it
even counteract the statewide -cuts made to SUNY's
Health Budget which have caused Farmingdale's infir-mary
to now be closed on weekends.
There was much pertinent information given at
the conference, not the least of which included the negative
impact this Fee will have on the many minority groups who
live with low incomes, relying entirely on financal aid or
TAP funds.
This Fee was recently approved by the Student
Life Committee, a subcommittee formed by the SUNY
$50.00 And Rising?
Central Board of Trustees, and will be submitted to the
Board of Trustees for FINAL APPROVAL on September
27.
The fact of the matter is this: these students are
protesting a mandatory Student Health Fee which will
START at $50.00. "Start" is the key term, as the Fee will
INCREASE BY $10.00 EVERY YEAR! There is NO
maximum on how high the Fee can go , although a sug-gested
cap was stated to be $300.00.
Last year the students of SUNY Farmingdale
were faced with a similar problem when a $ 132.00 Parking
Fee was proposed by SUNY Central. That Fee was to be
paid by SUNY faculty and staff, eventually to affect
students as well! The proposed Fee not only did not im-prove
parking conditions, but it did not even guarantee
students, staff or even faculty of getting a parking space!
The biggest difference between the current Health
Fee and last years Parking Fee is that the Parking Fee was
instituted at the OPTION of each individual campus. The
Health Fee will be State Mandated, meaning every student
at every university must pay this new Fgc or not go to
school.
In reaction to this new proposed Health Fee, the
students of SUNY Buffalo not only protested, but stormed
into the Administration Building of their school, disrupting
activities there for hours as power to services such as
elevators was cut in an effort by Administrators to try and
stop the inflow of students.
This fee will be over and above a student's tuition
costs and will not be covered by the majority of scholar-ships,
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) or financial aid
programs!
If anyone desires additional information regard-ing
the Health Fee, feel fre to contact local member of the
SUNY Central Board of Trustees, Hazel Dukes, at (212)
704-5283.
On campus, students may call Farmingdale Pro-vost,
Michael J. Vinciguerra (Vin-Ce-gera) in the Admini-stration
Building, at 420-2239,
for more information or materi-als
relating to the new Health
Fee.
In addition to the
mandatory Student Health Fee,
a $200.00-$300.00 mandatory
Student Health Insurance Fee
has been proposed for approval
sometime next year. It is an in-dependent
fee and will be
charged IN ADDITION to the
Sttident Health Fee, which could
mean and additional combined
cost of up to $600.00 for every
student!
The original idea
behind the establishment of the
SUNY system was to make ac-cessible,
a quahty education for
all New York State students at
an affordable price. The Stu-dent
Health Fee and the upcom-ing
Sujdent Health Insurance
Fee distinctly contradict these
basic qualities as they do not improve the campus in any
way. They only help to.take another step toward making in-accessible,
a college education for the great number of low-income
human beings who will likely not be able to raise
these additional funds out of their own pockets.
Last year Governor Mario Cuomo defied state
legislators and vetoed the bill that would have raised
student tuitions rather than lead to the necessity of new
fees. True, the tuition raise would have been another
$200.00, but remember, scholarships, (TAP) and financial
aid would have helped pay those costs. Now the students of
SUNY are looking at an increase of up to $600.00 with,
quite possibly, no aid at all.
Some information and materials for this story were
obtained in conjunction with Erik Johnson and the New
York Leader.
PHOTO BY JOE PUCCIO
ROOSEVELT HALL LIVE
Tueday, September 25, 1990