Inside MMC

Home — News & Events—Students Lobby for State-funded Programs

Students Lobby for State-funded Programs

MMC staff and student representatives attend the welcome ceremony and listen to remarks by state legislators and other students.

MMC staff and student representatives attend the welcome ceremony and listen to remarks by state legislators and other students.

(New York, NY) – Each year, more than 315,000 students in the state of New York, depend on state student aid to meet their college costs, and four million students have received state aid over the past four decades. The Executive Budget for SFY 2010-11 proposes to cut TAP by more than $71 million while eliminating TAP for graduate students.

Student representatives from Marymount Manhattan College met with state elected officials to voice their concerns during the New York Student Aid Alliance Lobby Day on February 9, which was hosted by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU). 

Participants from more than 50 college campuses and 800 students gathered at the Empire State Plaza, in Albany, to advocate for state student aid programs, including the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP)/ Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (C-STEP), and Liberty Partnerships Programs. 

MMC student participants were Kat Barnes ’10, Amina Bibi ’13, Ramone Bryan ’12, Sheynee Cohen ’13, Rosalina Lopez ’13, Colin Mehigan ’12, Ari O’Brien ’10, Agustina Perez ’13, Ingrid Sotelo ’10, and Evelyn Vizcaino ’12. The students were joined by MMC staff representatives Cindy Mercer, Ph.D., executive director for academic achievement; Blanca Vega, M.A., director of HEOP; and Manny Romero, M.A., director of communications and publications. 


MMC students met with New York Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing (center) during Lobby Day. 		 

During the welcome and budget briefing, participants heard remarks from state legislators: Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera. 

MMC students met with Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, a representative from Senator Liz Krueger’s office and a staff representative from Senator Jose Serrano’s office. At each meeting, students shared their personal stories about how they benefit from state-funded programs. 

To learn more about Lobby Day and the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) visit www.cicu.org. 

Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.

Published: February 11, 2010

Math Department Holds The Eleventh Annual Pi-Day Contest

Every year, the Mathematics department holds a College-wide π-Day contest. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit an original sentence, paragraph, poem, or short story that uses the digits of π in order (π ≈ 3.1415926..).