CLASS TRANSIT
No elbows in your tender ribs,
No babies cheesing on their bibs;
No screeching wheels to pierce your ears,
No cash appeals from "volunteers,"
No sweltering in your subway car,
No coughing caused by a lit cigar.
No need to park your automobile,
No spot, a thorough search'll reveal;
No parking lot or city garage,
No space excepting a mirage;
No bicycle without the risk,
No pothole jolts to spinal disk.
--No form of travel beats the limo,
No possibility, it's primo.
No workplace benefit compares,
No more the mode of millionaires;
No sweat for you, no need to squirm;
No tab! It's paid for by your firm.
Yes!
No elbows in your tender ribs,
No babies cheesing on their bibs;
No screeching wheels to pierce your ears,
No cash appeals from "volunteers,"
No sweltering in your subway car,
No coughing caused by a lit cigar.
No need to park your automobile,
No spot, a thorough search'll reveal;
No parking lot or city garage,
No space excepting a mirage;
No bicycle without the risk,
No pothole jolts to spinal disk.
--No form of travel beats the limo,
No possibility, it's primo.
No workplace benefit compares,
No more the mode of millionaires;
No sweat for you, no need to squirm;
No tab! It's paid for by your firm.
Yes!
1
In this digital day and age, it's amazing that anyone even remembers Scrabble....Happy Birthday, Mr. Butts.
1
The only post-high school education that should receive any funding should be the service academies. The public shouldn't have to fund anyone's goals in life, especially since the choice to attend college, which college to attend and the selection of a major are not controlled by the very same taxpayers.
Free tuition in exchange for work is a great idea. We should start with medical school, the cost of which is crippling. This is also a way to reign in the cost of health care and make insurance more affordable for individuals and less profitable for the insurance companies.
Now, if only we can come up with a solution for the cost of drugs.
Now, if only we can come up with a solution for the cost of drugs.
You are forced to stay in NY, even if you cannot find a job. There may be jobs in PA, NJ, VT or MA but SORRY. Those who cannot find a job will qualify for many state benefits, thus increasing their actual burden on the state.
So will NY State now hire lots of bureaucrats to check on these tens of thousands of students to make sure they are living and working in NY? And what about a graduate who has a baby and takes time off? Or a grad who can't find work? Or a grad whose major in tropical marine biology requires living in another state? Who decides what the exemption is for "personal hardship"?
|And given that 50% of the college students in NY attend private colleges how will SUNY deal with the expected influx? And will SUNY - with so many applicants- now become exclusive, so only students with the highest grades get in?
The only thing that is clear about this program is that Andrew Cuomo wants to run for president and will use this as his tag line.
If he really wanted to help the middle class he'd allow college tuition - or a part of it- to be deducted from NY State taxes.
|And given that 50% of the college students in NY attend private colleges how will SUNY deal with the expected influx? And will SUNY - with so many applicants- now become exclusive, so only students with the highest grades get in?
The only thing that is clear about this program is that Andrew Cuomo wants to run for president and will use this as his tag line.
If he really wanted to help the middle class he'd allow college tuition - or a part of it- to be deducted from NY State taxes.
So it's nothing more than a political gimmick. This will give Cuomo bragging rights about how he gave New York "free tuition" when he runs for president in 2020.
I like how everyone is crying for "restoration of free tuition" in CUNY but fail miserably to state how to pay for the employees, facilities, and contracts of said CUNY schools. And let me remind everyone that NYC suffered a HUGE fiscal crisis in '77. Should we restore that too?
Face it, this is a wonderful opportunity for those who benefit from it. Working poor? Please stop bellyaching. Pell and TAP offer max grants to the poor. CUNY schools offer SEEK assistance and the state schools offer assistance in the form of EOP---ON TOP OF PELL AND TAP! I know---I was a working poor student my first three years.
Face it, this is a wonderful opportunity for those who benefit from it. Working poor? Please stop bellyaching. Pell and TAP offer max grants to the poor. CUNY schools offer SEEK assistance and the state schools offer assistance in the form of EOP---ON TOP OF PELL AND TAP! I know---I was a working poor student my first three years.
3
"90% of current community college students would not apply". Another political ploy. Sounds good, helps only a few who probably need it less. I'm tired of politicians talking about the middle class. What about the hardworking poor? The largest (and growing) segment of the US.
3
The only break I got was free tuition in the 60s so I worked as I attended City College In NYC. There was not any money floating around in those days like in the great society when they made open enrollment and paid you to go to school. As you needed no record of high school college prep studies or good test scores they managed to make those degrees worthless. That is how we got teachers who could not pass test in subjects they were teaching. Please do not lower standards again
1
Staying in State.
The Province of Manitoba, Canada has a similar program regarding education.
What has been pointed out by opposition parties is the government has no iron clad system of making sure the graduates have and are staying in Province.
While either in Manitoba or New York State it is a good idea but that is one gapping hole in the idea.
The Province of Manitoba, Canada has a similar program regarding education.
What has been pointed out by opposition parties is the government has no iron clad system of making sure the graduates have and are staying in Province.
While either in Manitoba or New York State it is a good idea but that is one gapping hole in the idea.
5
Re: Free tuition in return for work. This is not a new idea, and it has much merit. At Ohio University, students of the College of Osteopathic Medicine are required upon graduation to spend two years working in the area. This helps significantly to solve the long-standing problem of a lack of medical personnel, especially in the Appalachian region.
2
I love the idea of low-cost higher education, especially since my three children (as well as my husband) are CUNY grads. BUT who will pay the professors? One of my CUNY grad daughters is a university professor-how will college and universities find the funds for full-time educators who are committed to their students? Who don't have to leave for another teaching position every 2-3 years just to make ends meet as rent rises but salaries remain the same ( and class size grows)? Who have little job security as the tenured staff stays on well into their 70s and 80s doing little lecture hall work or research but holding "seminars" with a few students every term?
6
This helps virtually no one who could really benefit from having free college for the first two years. In fact, it puts low income students, who often have trouble graduating from high school in 4 years(some of my students work to support their families at 16 or 17) and would have to work at least part time to support themselves during college, at a disadvantage as Federal Pell Grants are most likely on their way out. And why would we extend this help to out of state students whose parents do not pay taxes here?
If they really wanted to help kids afford college they would fund the first 60 credits(full or part time) of undergrad for all first time in-state residents who remain in good academic standing.
If they really wanted to help kids afford college they would fund the first 60 credits(full or part time) of undergrad for all first time in-state residents who remain in good academic standing.
7
This "free tuition" program doesn't really sound free at all. But aside from that, how is this called "a first-of-its-kind program"? Way back when I attended the City University of New York, tuition was really free, with no strings attached, except to the usual loopholes. CUNY was later merged into SUNY, and once the state got involved, there went the free tuition. What goes around comes around, except that with all the conditions on this new program, it doesn't.
6
CUNY never merged with SUNY. I work for CUNY. What you're referring to is after the fiscal crisis of '77, the four year CUNY schools were funded by the state budget and the two year community colleges remained on the city budget. SUNY & CUNY remain separate entities.
Why criticize the idea of restoring free tuition to CUNY (as had been the policy from founding through the 60s) and adding SUNY just because this important step does not solve all problems instantly?
--No need to pay to live in a dorm if you pick a College near home, so that decreases the need for many hours of work. More students will be able to attend full time. Many of us graduated from one of CUNY's Colleges debt free under NYC's policy of investing in its children's future and have paid back through taxes.
--For many families, a program to help students to get good summer jobs to contribute to family expenses would address the financial strain they experience even when they live at home, enabling them to attend full time
--No need to pay to live in a dorm if you pick a College near home, so that decreases the need for many hours of work. More students will be able to attend full time. Many of us graduated from one of CUNY's Colleges debt free under NYC's policy of investing in its children's future and have paid back through taxes.
--For many families, a program to help students to get good summer jobs to contribute to family expenses would address the financial strain they experience even when they live at home, enabling them to attend full time
11
Want a secure job after high school? Enlist at your nearest recruiting center.
Perhaps a good test for eligibility would be to ask applicants where the name "Excelsior" comes from and what it means...
2
thank you for writing about alfred m. butts, scrabble's inventor. i particularly liked your comments re the 35th avenue street sign depicting the numerical scrabble amount for each letter on the sign. for many long-term players, scrabble is a blood sport. for many others, it's a game of chance, mixed with a modicum of intelligence.
7
Re the little girl vs. the big Wall Street bull:
Instead of confronting the bull, with arms akimbo, the little girl should make up her mind to find out his secrets and learn to control him. That bull, after all, among his other chores, props up our pensions and savings, however meager.
It would be nice if the bull's next handler is not the sort of Wall Street man Mr. Trump seems to prize, but someone who can be entrusted to use our nation's great wealth wisely.
Little girls need to join Wall Street, not fight it.
Instead of confronting the bull, with arms akimbo, the little girl should make up her mind to find out his secrets and learn to control him. That bull, after all, among his other chores, props up our pensions and savings, however meager.
It would be nice if the bull's next handler is not the sort of Wall Street man Mr. Trump seems to prize, but someone who can be entrusted to use our nation's great wealth wisely.
Little girls need to join Wall Street, not fight it.
5
Clinton. Back like a bad odor. Leaching on as usual. Centrist Democrat? That's what she is calling herself these days? Middle class? Aligning herself with Cuomo and not standing on her own. Photo op. So typical. Wolf in sheep clothing.
6
If only, Hillary picked Bernie for VP.
What a different world this would be.
What a different world this would be.
4
Haters gonna hate. When you only accept perfection you are destined to be perpetually disappointed.
4
As bad as our reputation has been damaged by DJT, allowing a socialist anywhere near the Oval Office is something we could never recover from.
Yankees sting Rays
4
First of it's kind law? Get real NYT.
Pittsburgh has supported a similar gap-funding program for years called the Pittsburgh Promise.
It was originally intended to get low-income and middle class students into the college of their choice.
Sliding scale tuition payments are based on city residency, attendance in a city school or city-sponsored charter school/cyber school, number of days attended, and a minimum grade point average of 2.0. Students that attend from kindergarten get the max benefit and students that attend from 9th grade on get a 50% benefit. Students are automatically enrolled in this benefit program in their senior year and colleges deal directly with the promise foundation for billing.
Is it the world's absolute best school system? No, but if you can overcome the challenges of urban school and get into college there's a pretty big payoff.
Pittsburgh has supported a similar gap-funding program for years called the Pittsburgh Promise.
It was originally intended to get low-income and middle class students into the college of their choice.
Sliding scale tuition payments are based on city residency, attendance in a city school or city-sponsored charter school/cyber school, number of days attended, and a minimum grade point average of 2.0. Students that attend from kindergarten get the max benefit and students that attend from 9th grade on get a 50% benefit. Students are automatically enrolled in this benefit program in their senior year and colleges deal directly with the promise foundation for billing.
Is it the world's absolute best school system? No, but if you can overcome the challenges of urban school and get into college there's a pretty big payoff.
6
The Pittsburgh Promise (like the Kalamazoo Promise program in Michigan) is privately funded. New York's plan would be the first such program funded by taxpayers.
4
If room and board is a big piece of that $83,000 then students should live at home and commute. This article is a negative slant on a positive program. And there is nothing wrong with a part time job while you are in school. Been there, done that.
16
I've been there and done that, too, and frankly, I found it very difficult to balance my so-called "part-time" job (30 hrs/week, including every single Saturday) with my studies and my overall college life. Net-net: I was forced to pull all-nighters far too often, had extremely limited social interaction with my fellow students, and did not experience my college years as fun and carefree, but rather stressful and overwhelming. I now have a niece attending a prestigious, expensive university on scholarship (which obliges her to work 2 part-time jobs), and already in her second semester as a freshman, she is exhausted and totally stressed out. And she is the only one in her dorm and among her new friends who is working. I wish she could just be a student concentrating on her education and enjoying her campus life during the academic year, and a part-time job-holder during the summers.
2
3 daughters each graduated CUNY schools. One is math PhD (CUNY graduate center); one is special -ed teacher (MA Queens College) one is professional chef (culinary training post BA Lehman College). Each lived at home while attending school in order to graduate completely debt free. Each worked part-time starting in their junior year and every summer. They are well educated in both academics and the realities of life (tho' their reality is much less harsh then others- at least they are citizens of the US).
9
Ah...the good old days when this was actually possible.
2
Free college is a joke---as if standards are not low enough---pretty soon colleges will start teaching reading, writing and arithmetic...........come to think of it, that would be an improvement over Gender Studies, Black Studies and God knows what other crapola is currently taught by the lefty faculties.
9
I'm not sure why making college cost less impacts the standards of the students who attend. Just because someone's parents are poor or middle class, it doesn't mean they're stupid.
Schools in the Ivy League assist lower income students with costs as well. Take Cornell (for a New York example)--students with parents who make under $60,000 a year get free tuition, room and board.
Schools in the Ivy League assist lower income students with costs as well. Take Cornell (for a New York example)--students with parents who make under $60,000 a year get free tuition, room and board.
5
The story I'd like to know is how continuing cut of state support of NY's public colleges, now down to around 30%, has affected tuition. Also, where does the tuition charged by the colleges and universities go, and what's the formula for deciding how much they can keep?
5
"Also, where does the tuition charged by the colleges and universities go, and what's the formula for deciding how much they can keep?"
Federal loans have enabled college and universities to charge a much higher tuition than they had. Such institutions have gone on extravagant building sprees: bigger and more luxurious dormitories, bigger and more technologically advanced stadiums, bigger and more eye-popping eating halls. In our cities, expanding universities swallow up residential neighborhoods; in the country, they spread out over hills in ever-widening ovals.
They pay their top professors exorbitant salaries.
That's where the money goes, courtesy of federal loans. I am not against federal loans, but they seem to have been given without restriction.
Federal loans have enabled college and universities to charge a much higher tuition than they had. Such institutions have gone on extravagant building sprees: bigger and more luxurious dormitories, bigger and more technologically advanced stadiums, bigger and more eye-popping eating halls. In our cities, expanding universities swallow up residential neighborhoods; in the country, they spread out over hills in ever-widening ovals.
They pay their top professors exorbitant salaries.
That's where the money goes, courtesy of federal loans. I am not against federal loans, but they seem to have been given without restriction.
8
Just look at layers of bureaucracy and administrators at colleges and universities - in many cases there are now as many of these kinds of people (or more) than actual professors. Coupled with the urge to make campuses have resort like facilities to fill glossy brochures and you see one reason for the bloat in tuitions...all unconnected to education or the quality thereof.
7
What is not covered here is the question of what happens if a student needs to take a leave for medical or mental illness. Students deal with worries about losing their immigration status among other things under current law when they must leave school temporarily for an illness. Will this law have exceptions for that?
7
Can they really have meant to in effect exclude people whose need make them have to work part time? Surely they'll fix this, right?
Tune of Part-Time Lover
I read the rules there on the site
And I'm not sure I read it right
It says it's not for you
You part time worker!
The legislation sounds so great
And it applies to the whole state
But not to you
You part time worker.
Though your job is for need and not for fun
You're shut out just as you've begun.
Then they make you remain in New York State
Though it's so wrong to take a job you'll hate.
I was all ready to hit Send
So happy that I can attend
But they said it's not for you
You part time worker
And so I ask could they have meant
To go leave out ninety percent
Of folks like me and you
The part time workers
And that's what's new
You part time workers.
Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah (5x)
Part time worker
Tune of Part-Time Lover
I read the rules there on the site
And I'm not sure I read it right
It says it's not for you
You part time worker!
The legislation sounds so great
And it applies to the whole state
But not to you
You part time worker.
Though your job is for need and not for fun
You're shut out just as you've begun.
Then they make you remain in New York State
Though it's so wrong to take a job you'll hate.
I was all ready to hit Send
So happy that I can attend
But they said it's not for you
You part time worker
And so I ask could they have meant
To go leave out ninety percent
Of folks like me and you
The part time workers
And that's what's new
You part time workers.
Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah (5x)
Part time worker
20
The NYT should have covered the apartment fire in Queens. Hundreds of residents have lost their homes
A link to the Post is not sufficient
A link to the Post is not sufficient
10
Well, c'mon - had the fire been in Manhattan, it would've been on the front page!
2
"Tuition-Free" huh...