By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
UPPER EAST SIDE — Bronwyn Roe said she had to make a choice this semester. Should the fourth-year Hunter College student buy books or food?
She bought only one book, and borrows others when she can. She's trying to get by without doing her readings in some classes.
Feeling frustrated with the rising costs of her CUNY education and proposed cuts in state aid, Roe joined a group of students protesting in front of the school on Lexington Avenue and East 68th Street on Thursday afternoon.
They chanted, "Budget cuts. F#%& that."
"My dad's unemployed. I'm unemployed. My mom's house is in foreclosure," said Roe, 23. "It's either buy books or food. It's demoralizing. And I'm not alone. People all around me are moving in with their parents and dropping out of school."
CUNY students faced a 5 percent increase this year and will face another 2 to 5 percent increase for next fall. Six students filed a lawsuit against the tuition hikes in December.
On top of the hikes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a 10 percent cut in aid to CUNY.
One of the rally's organizers, Dan Raymond, 25, said he's taking prerequisites at Hunter in the hopes of doing a political science program at the CUNY Graduate Center, but would be a full-time student if he could afford it, he said.
"Honestly, I would be in school right now, but it's tough for me to get a good job, so I can't throw down that money — and I'm from a middle-class family," Raymond said.
Tuition for New York state residents attending one of CUNY's four-year colleges is $4,830 a year, according to the school system's website.
The students plan to take their complaints to Albany on Mar. 30.
