After CUNY had raised its tuition for community colleges by up to $175 this fall, it is being raised once again. The proposed tuition hikes and budget cuts will undoubtedly make students’ financial situations considerably worse, if not preventing some students from attending altogether. On October 6, 2009, Governor Paterson announced his proposal to cut $53 million from funds for CUNY senior colleges, and a week later added a $9.9 million cut to CUNY community colleges. The proposal also reduced the amount of funding given to the Higher Education Services Corporation by $35 million. The Higher Education Services Corporation administers student aid such as TAP, which was cut by $120 per semester, per student.

Governor Paterson has proposed to reduce state deficit and urged legislators to support his budget cut plan of $5.2 billion by next year.

It is a plan to reduce the state’s spending and save money for the upcoming year.

The Governor states that education and health care are two of the main concerns and without cutting them, the deficit will be tough to reduce.

According to 1199SEIU - United Healthcare Workers, this is the sixth time the healthcare funding has been reduced by the Governor in the last two years.

On Saturday November 7th, 2009, LaGCC held "The 2009 Student Leadership Conference." The conference's theme was "Celebrate Achievement: Journey to Success." The event was designed to help students deal with the stresses of school and life in general by providing workshops with resources that will help students cope with situations that might arise while going to school. One of the workshops provided was titled "Smart Phones, Smart People." Presenter Albert Neal, an LaGCC Media professor, discussed the many mobile research applications for use with smart phones.

Andrew Williamson-Noble, a 20-year-old junior at New York University College of Arts and Science decided to take his life by jumping to his death from the Bobst Library in Washington Square Park.

The student jumped from the 10th floor and landed in the lobby of the library. He used his student ID card to gain access to the library where police found him unconscious and unresponsive on November 3rd, 2009. He was taken to Saint Vincent’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Friends and professors described Williamson-Noble as a talented, happy and cheerful student.