CUNY Students, Staff Arrested During Protest in Albany Updated March 23, 2011 7:43pm

New York State Police arrest demonstrators outside Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office during a rally against proposed budget cuts to education and the state public university system at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Several dozen college students and faculty members were arrested by state troopers in Albany Wednesday while protesting the governor's proposed budget cuts.

About 200 City University of New York faculty and staff descended on the capitol Wednesday to push lawmakers to reconsider cutting their funding as enrollment climbs.

Activists argued that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget plan harms low-income New Yorkers while benefiting the rich, said Fran Clark, a spokesman for the Professional Staff Congress, the union that organized the rally.

The governor's budget cuts CUNY funding by 10 percent at a time when affordable colleges are more important than ever, he said.

"The crowd was energized, they were chanting loudly and marching in a circle around the War Room in the Capitol," Clark said. Protesters from the Real Rent Reform Campaign, SUNY students and other activists also participated in the march.

After about 45 minutes, state troopers arrested 33 protesters as they blocked the entrance to the hall leading to the Governor's chambers, Clark said.

Six of those arrested were CUNY students and the rest faculty, he said.

The governor has said that tough cuts are necessary to rescue the state from bankruptcy, and has vowed to balance the budget without new taxes.

RELATED CONTENT

• CUNY Votes to Ban Smoking on Manhattan Campuses The trustees of the City University of New York voted to extend its indoor smoking ban to all outdoor spaces in its 23-campus system Monday night.  [DNAinfo]
• Education, Medicaid Slashed as Gov. Cuomo Drops Budget Ax Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a plan to slash billions from the state's budget, including a 2 percent cut in Medicaid spending, a $1.5 billion reduction in school aid and nearly 10,000 state worker layoffs, according to a plan unveiled Tuesday.  [DNAinfo]