March 4th Rally

SUNY Purchase students went all out as they rallied the troops to fight budget cuts on March 4th’s “Day of Action”.

All Purchase majors were represented as students gathered at 1pm in front of Student Services to stand their ground. Students have been frustrated with the New York State Government’s decision to cut funding for programs, terminate professors, and raising tuition. The event had been organized and led by sociology and psychology senior Jordyan Mueller, the protest began with the noisy “Pots and Pans Brigade”. The Brigade, fronted by Stefan Fink, riled up students by roaming around the campus chanting and banging on a medley of kitchen pots and pans to let everyone know about the cause.
“It took a lot of me worrying and running around with my head cut off,” said Fink, as he described the effort he put into assembling the “Pots and Pans Brigade”. Eventually, everyone ended up back at the Student Services building where Mueller made an inspiring speech to pump up the students, followed by some wise words spoken by President Schwarz and numerous musical performances. It did not take long for the students to come together and completely take over the building not just during the day but the night, as well.
Mueller’s involvement was prompted by her senior project, “investigating the roots of the current budget crisis in higher education and how it impacts the function of the institution.” She mentioned this was her first time organizing a protest and being in an “activist” position. Mueller screamed into a microphone over a rowdy crowd of students before leading them into the building, “We have a bunch of beautiful faces; a lot of proud and strong people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in!”
Once everyone piled floor to ceiling into the student services, nothing could stop them. Everyone danced, had a chance to speak out to their peers, ate free food and recorded the momentous occasion. Junior dance major Katrina Cunningham said that her life has crumbled due to the economy this year. Her dad went bankrupt, her mother lost her home and her brother can’t afford to have a child because he’s paying off his loans. Referring to her student loans, Cunningham said, “I am going to school for an art and I have no idea when I am going to be able to pay that back but it’s still important enough to me.” She added, “What’s so painful is to see people come here and feel safe based on the fake money, based on the fake support system and have no perspective on how hard it’s going to be to work up what we are putting aside for this,” complained Cunningham.
There were a number of students who felt they were making less of an impact due to the relatively unorganized rally. “Perhaps it was not as organized as possible and there was definitely disparities with regards to experience, knowledge about the situation, even maturity. I am guilty of all three,” admitted Mueller. However, Fink said that, “We are making a difference right now,” and, “That’s why I say, ‘we are student’s, we are strong,’ it’s a self realization.”
The question became not, are we doing enough now, but what should the next step be. Some of the students were ready to pack their bags and head to Albany. “We are not fighting against our administrators so being in here isn’t about something that we are going to win today; it’s about getting the students to understand what a big deal this is,” said Cunningham. “What matters most is that we are talking about SOMETHING, that some sort of spark has been lit,” Mueller wrote optimistically in an e-mail.