The Graduate Center, where I sit, is in better physical shape than most of CUNY, although a far cry from Princeton. (I don't care) But even elite campuses like Hunter, which are fabulous engines of social mobility, are shockingly under-maintained
I was the external reviewer for CUNY Brooklyn's political science department a decade ago. The contrast between the incredible students, largely first generation, making a better world for themselves and peers, and the rotting facilities they were taught in by overworked professors was remarkable.
I teach at Hunter. My calc 3 class this semester meets in (what's supposed to be) the cafeteria. There is no board. The situation just gets worse and worse - the best we can hope for is that it gets worse as slowly as possible. The economy is as strong as it gets but our department budget got cut 3%
I went to CUNY SPS. There was a dramatic difference between even my program (Disability Studies) and the entire rest of the school when Covid-19 lockdowns started, because one dept had infrastructure for it - the rest had to figure out on the fly (and SPS is the "newest" one iirc)
I'd think of every $100K taken away from the facilities budget as an opportunity to provide a full scholarship. A life changed. A branch of a genealogical tree that escaped the fait of relative poverty.
Go CUNY and SUNY!
