Local blog Keep Albany Boring on SUNY students gathering for a higher cause

Students rally in opposition to proposed cuts to education in the State budget (image captured from video provided by Keep Albany Boring)

With all the talk and coverage given to the Kegs and Eggs Riot, it’s not only refreshing but a requirement that we give space and proper recognition to those students who, as pointed out before, are very active in their community and rallying for what they believe to be a higher cause.

In this case it’s the New York State budget and its proposed cuts to education.

Naturally, the rift between town and gown as Jordan Carleo-Evangelist termed it has extended to this issue. There are many that, unfortunately, used Kegs and Eggs as an excuse to express extremist opinions as it pertains to state funding of education, even going to far as to suggest cutting to SUNY be abolished completely.

It’s a ridiculous assertion, of course, until you realize that this sentiment, while small, does carry to the voting booth.

Since November, we have seen a movement across the country to cut costs in order to reign in what is referred to as “out of control spending.” Unfortunately, and in my mind reprehensibly, our country’s educational system has become a victim of this policy, making what should be precision cuts to trim the fat off state and federal funding instead the equivalent of waving a machete recklessly, banging against teh cutting board and chopping off our fingers in the process.

The real reform required for education in this country isn’t in dollars, but policy and approach. That we are falling behind countries like China and India in regards to maths and sciences isn’t a myth (Rensselaer President Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson refers to it as the “quiet crisis”). It is a direct result of an education system that needs an overhaul, and of a society that needs to put more emphasis and attention towards math, science, art, and all those other things that we need in order to cultivate a generation that can not only make the world a better place, but make this country greater and maintain its position in a global society.

That’s not going to be done by eliminating collective bargaining rights, cutting education spending, and/or forcing schools to lay off teachers that are already not only underappreciated but underpaid. Requirements to become a teacher are tougher than ever, and yet pay comparatively has rarely been lower in modern society.

But I digress. I urge you to give the following a read, and not to be as dismissive as some are in calling these students with very real concerns for the future of our State educational system “uninformed.”

Keep Albany Boring: “What democracy looks like”