On Oct. 29, students, faculty and politicians braved less-than-ideal weather to join together for Q-UNITY Day to demand that the Vallone Scholarship be restored to Queens College students.
"Out of the hundreds and thousands of rallies that I've been to, this was the worst weather," said Dr. Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress at CUNY. "There was still a crowd that came and stayed, despite the freak sleet and rain storm."
Rally participants and supporters gathered outside the Rosenthal Library during free hour to encourage people to take action with their local representatives about the CUNY budget and the reduction of the scholarship.
Helen Marshall, Queens borough president and QC alumna, said she was against the most recent reduction of the scholarship, from $650 each semester to $250.
"$250? I'm not even sure that pays for your textbooks," said Marshall to students. "You are our insurance of the future, so we want you educated."
Councilman John Liu also said that more should be invested into public university education.
"If there can be a $700-billion bailout for the country, why not invest more in the future students of CUNY?" he said.
Jasmine Osorio, a Vallone scholar, attended the event to support her fellow students and scholars speaking out against the budget.
"I was raised by a single mother and I'm in the work-study program, so any financial aid is a huge help to me," said Osorio, a senior who is double majoring in elementary education and English.
Peter DeCrescenzo, a senior from the College of Staten Island and president of the student body there, commuted all the way to Queens for Q-UNITY Day.
"It was empowering," said DeCrescenzo. "It definitely set the tone for other CUNY campuses on how everyone can come together and start a movement."
The PSC distributed post cards for students to fill out, which were similar to petitions. According to Student Association President Adjani Papillon, these post cards would be sent to Gov. David Patterson. They are meant to make the state reconsider CUNY when they reconvene to hash out mid-year budget details.
Attendees of the rally were not only Vallone scholars. Ateo Peruyero, a junior, came to show support for equal opportunity education, which he said requires "free tuition and open admissions."
As for Q-UNITY Day itself, he said, "I think it was a good start, but not as big a turnout as I expected."
Charmaine Worthy, special projects coordinator from the CUNY Central Office of Student Affairs, disagreed, saying the turnout was "amazing, especially since it was cold and rainy."
Q-UNITY Day was sponsored by over 25 organizations within QC, including Delta Phi Epsilon, SA, the International Students Association and the Academic Advising Center.
The Vallone Scholarship is a scholarship offered to QC students who have a 3.0 GPA upon entry and maintain it throughout their college years.
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