New York proposes plan to send students to college for free

By: Julia Balzer

1:50 p.m. February 8, 2017

COLLEGE PARK, Md.- Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, is trying to help

students pay for college. The plan is designed for students from low family

incomes, $125,000 or less, according to CNN. This would allow students to

complete a degree at a public college in two to four years.

It seems nearly impossible to have a successful career without a

college degree, Julia Balzer, a sophomore architecture and communication

major at the University of Maryland said. And it does not seem fair that only

some people should get that opportunity.

According to U.S. News & World Report, 70 percent of college students

graduate with student loans averaging $30,000.

Logistically [this plan] should be on the federal level, Natalie Flynn, a

sophomore kinesiology said. It just doesnt seem fair that this would only be

in New York.

This is not the first time free college tuition has been considered. One

supporter of this idea is Senator Bernie Sanders, who has been an advocate

throughout his presidential campaign in 2016.

It might be good to have a trial run in one state, Abbey Masucci, a

sophomore kinesiology major at the University of Maryland said.

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 Although Governor Cuomo has not outlined the logistics of this plan,

critics are

questioning where the government funding covering the tuitions would

be coming from.

"Governor Cuomo isn't providing 'free' tuition. He's simply telling New

York taxpayers to write a bigger check," Brian Kolb, New York State assembly

republican leader said to CNN.

If this plan is approved, New York could be the nations model for free

tuition in public institutions.

It would be really good for my sisters who live in New York and my

mom who does a lot of stuff for kids who cannot afford tuition, Jessica

Piazza, a sophomore neuroscience and physiology major at the University of

Maryland said. The amount of people who cannot afford college tuition in

[New York] you would not expect.

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