Medgar Evers Expansion Getting There
The Polshek-designed new academic building at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights looks like it’s on schedule to meet its August completion date. When done, the 194,000-square-foot building will house the college’s School of Science, Health, and Technology. Click through to view a rendering of the project. Development Watch: Night Lights at MEC [Brownstoner] GMAP…
The Polshek-designed new academic building at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights looks like it’s on schedule to meet its August completion date. When done, the 194,000-square-foot building will house the college’s School of Science, Health, and Technology. Click through to view a rendering of the project.
Development Watch: Night Lights at MEC [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB
tybur6…Umm, sorry for the mix-up – but your reasoning is a bit jaded..(or maybe I missed something)
So you believe that the “very powerful” reason students are graduating high school functionally illiterate and showing up on CUNY campuses (mind-you) functionally illiterate is because of what?… “Not grasping the importance of education,” a failure to “break out of a welfare cycle” (mentality) or because they “don’t have basic math skills” for success? – gasp! gasp!
My experience is that self entitled (bleeps) arrive at CUNY campuses unprepared for the rigor necessary to earn good grades. Not because the choose not to do the work.
I hope the cycle, whatever the cause, is broken also.
Aren’t we supposed to be blaming the public school teachers? It’s very fashionable nowadays.
The Who… Umm, I said that quote above. Not DH. And second, it’s not an issue about “enthused” about college/education… it’s even being able to grasp the importance. The world will always have rich, self-entitled bitches… but they obnoxious kids are well-prepared for college. They simply CHOOSE not to participate. Much of the population served by (or meant to be served by) Medgar Evers and the other CUNY campuses don’t have the ability to choose… when you arrive at a college functionally illiterate and without basic math skills, you’re not going to succeed. Full stop.
I’m glad to hear that there are schools in this city, as mentioned by CrownHeightsLady, that are trying to break this cycle.
Dirt hipster said it best: “Now… if only the schools could produce *well prepared* students that are ready for college. ”
Why I witnessed this on a CUNY campus Spring 2009:
A rather high-browed student at one of the more “elitist” campuses threatening a professor:
“You know who my father is…don’t you?” she said with an air of superiority. “I better get a passing grade.” This same young lady sat in class and texted most of the night. She also needed extra time to hand in papers.
All students who are not enthused by college/education are not necessarily caught in a “welfare cycle” as someone suggested. Some of them think they don’t need an education because of where they come from.
There are a few HS in Brooklyn that are trying hard to break the cycle…Bedford, ME Prep, Benjamin Banneker etc. The kids are in school all the time and on the weekends…it’s great! But the issue starts in JHS. We have to break the cycle of laziness early.
The funding model for CUNY is actually quite complex… The operating budget for all of the Senior Colleges (Brooklyn, Baruch, City, Queens, Medgar, etc.) is just under $1.2 billion. And the community colleges are somewhere around $675 million. These are *very* lean operations compared to the privates in the city.
The Senior Colleges are subsidized by the State (with a tiny amount from the City) and the Community Colleges are subsidized more substantially by the City and also by the State. Tuition and fees cover about 35-40% of the operating budgets. (and growing as the state contracts it’s support or increases it slower than the cost of living)
The tuition increase CHL mentioned above is a bit of a misnomer…. Tuition went up $600, but not all of that money finds its way into the colleges’ budgets. I think the agreement with Albany was something like 40%, but I don’t think that much even made its way to the coffers.
Oh, Rob, I can’t agree with you more… BUT, CrownHeightsLady hit the nail on the head. It’s a problem with values. When you grown up in a family that does not value education or even know what an education could potentially do for you (think the horrible welfare cycle and how hard it is to break free and be self-sufficient)… that’s a VERY powerful reason why students are graduating high school, basically, functionally illiterate. The great opportunities found at CUNY are simply not an option because these students are NOT READY for college-level work.
Also, CUNY is still basically free for the most needy in the city… through Pell Grants and so on. Not loans.
The issue of access vis-a-vis tuition is only a real issue for those folks that are “in the middle.” Not poor enough to be eligible for Pell Grants, but not well off enough that $4000-$6000 per year is a hardship. Then again, there are Federal Loans…. and at $24,000 for FOUR YEARS of college, that’s a bargain. And it works out to be only like $200/mo for the student loan payment.
NYU and such are the big problems here… you get students that don’t understand the implications of debt. They take out $24,000 or a lot more EVERY YEAR in federal and private loans. Then find themselves saddles with $1500/mo payments when they graduate. Horrible.
“Tuition at the four-year colleges rose to $4,600 this year, up from $4,000 last year. Community college tuition rose to $3,175 from $2,800.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/01/07/2010-01-07_cuny_bigs_get_pay_hike_while_tuition_spikes.html#ixzz0cVZkaKiD
I attended a CUNY school for my MS. Great experience, excellent programs for fraction of what Columbia & NYU cost. To be honest I was on my way to NYU but found out that Hunter College had the same program and get this the many of the same professors.
Gotcha MM
So that brings up the question – for the most part CUNY schools are pretty good. Why can’t the high schools get their act together? Not enough resources? How much of CUNY tuition actually goes to operational costs for university?
Hipster, I think Tybur was referring to high school students. But I agree with you, the Medgar Evers alumni I’ve encountered are very motivated, and well educated. I think is does matter that they are often putting themselves through school, and really want to get ahead in this world.