Governor Cuomo Announces Free-Tuition Initiative for New York

On Tuesday, January 3rd, behind a large banner that read "Tuition-Free College for New York's Middle Class," New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an initiative that would provide tuition free public higher education in the state. Alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Bill Thompson, Chairperson for the Board of Trustees for the City University of New York, Cuomo announced the first program of its kind in the country.

The title of the program is "The Excelsior Scholarship," in which tuition would be free for students of families making $125,000 or less per year, and would apply to New York State's SUNY and CUNY public school programs for both two-year or four-year schools.

"The way this society said 'we're going to pay for high school, because you need high school,' this society should say 'we're going to pay for college' because you need college to be successful," Cuomo said.

Senator Sanders doubled down on the burden of student loan debt, saying that it is "basically insane" to tell young people that they should go out to get an education and the jobs of the future, while then burying them in debt for decades.

"Our job is to encourage every person in this country to get all of the education he or she can, not to punish them for getting that education," Sanders said.

Sanders was a vocal proponent of tuition-free public college education during his campaign for president in 2016. His plan was a federal program to have public colleges and universities be tuition free.

"Today, higher education is not a privilege, but a right," Thompson said.

Cuomo's announcement comes as the first installment of his "State of the State" address, where he lays out the vision of New York State, similar to the president's State of the Union. This year, he is speaking directly to the people all across the state, where he will finish with his Albany address.

"In many ways I believe it is the most important issue that this state and his nation must address, which is higher education and the affordability of higher education," Cuomo began.

The governor, elected for his second term in 2014, remarked on the changing economy through the microcosm of New York City and its five boroughs. He touched on the old, seemingly outdated lifestyle that inhabited Queens and Brooklyn 50-60 years go where you could work in a local factory and be able to survive as a middle class working citizen.

The equalizer, he said, was the public education system and how it could turn someone into something from nothing. Most notably to him was his father, Mario Cuomo, who was born into a poor Italian family and eventually became Governor of New York.

"With a public education, you could come from anywhere, and wind up anything," he said. "All from the public education system."

In his pitch to the New York legislature to pass this legislation, Sanders predicted a domino-effect for this new policy.

"If New York State does it this year, mark my words, state after state will follow," he said.