On Feb. 27, Educational Opportunity Program assistant director Gabe Iturbides joined with five EOP students to participate in Higher Education Action Day. The group traveled to Albany to advocate for a 20 percent increase in funding for EOP.
Higher Education Day is an annual event where representatives from the State University of New York and the City University of New York school systems collaborate with government officials to explore funding possibilities for higher education in New York.
According to the Geneseo EOP webpage, EOP began in 1968 and exists as a parallel of the CUNY’s SEEK program. EOP succeeds in providing higher education to students who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend a four-year university because of a financial disadvantage that adversely affected their high school academics.
“EOP has to advocate for funding every year,” Iturbides said. “We have been fortunate since 2015 to have an increase that has been monumental. We have been fortunate the last five years to have a consistent flow of funding coming in and this could be the year that that halts.”
Carl Heastie, who has been the Speaker of the New York Assembly since 2015, has been an avid supporter of EOP, according to his Twitter. Once an EOP counselor himself, Heastie advocated for a $5 million increase in funding for EOP programs from 2015 to 2020.
“2020 is here, and we are probably going to be cut some money. The reason that we need this money is so that, not just at Geneseo, but statewide … lower-income students from all different backgrounds can continue receiving assistance. Being an EOP student is like winning the financial aid lottery,” Iturbides said.
According to Iturbides, EOP students still pay loans but they are significantly reduced because of the student’s financial situation. Those who are granted admission to the EOP program all have an estimated family contribution of zero.
“The students who went joined a room packed with students from across the state to advocate for what they are already receiving,” Iturbides said. “More importantly, they were able to experience first-hand what it is like to fight for something that has brought you so much opportunity.”
Iturbides said Higher Education Action Day allows EOP students to share their stories in regard to how the program impacts them and changes the trajectory of their families.
“I have done this for years and I used to go into the assemblyperson’s room with students. I stopped for two reasons … one of those reasons is that the legislators really want to listen to them, not me,” Iturbides said.
Communication major freshman Rocio Ruiz said that Higher Education Action Day allowed her to share her first-hand experience with the EOP program and explore the stories of others.
“When I agreed to attend, it wasn’t really about me trying to achieve anything personally,” Ruiz said. “I was much more interested in hearing the stories of those who have gone through the EOP program and to hear how the program has inspired them.”
Ruiz said she feels that there is so much that she can learn about the EOP program and those who it impacts.
“It was insane to hear how many students across New York have been affected by EOP and the directions that their lives have taken because of the opportunities a four-year degree has brought them … it was really inspiring to advocate for something so objectively helpful,” Ruiz said
In response to what could be a lack of funding, the EOP program could be impacted next year, according to Iturbides. It could mean that the gap between what an EOP student would owe to the college grows wider in years to come as well as how many EOP students the college could bring to campus.
“When you are asking a family of three or four for more money, when the only income is $12,000 a year, even a few hundred dollars can make a big difference for a family at that much of a disadvantage,” Iturbides said.
According to Iturbides, EOP hopes to bring 30 students to campus in the upcoming school year. This number however could be affected once the New York State executive budget is released in late March.