CUNY students and staff rallied Wednesday to call on Gov. Kathy Hochul to supply funding for CUNY and SUNY campuses as the state Legislature works on a budget deal.  

Back in January, Hochul committed $1.5 billion to CUNY and SUNY colleges over the next five years. 

Students and staff tell News 12 that this funding is a necessity for education, especially after decades of underfunded campuses.

“Under this new deal for CUNY, a $500 million request would also hire full-time faculty members to provide a better quality of education for everyone, as well as mental health counselors,” student Remysell Salas says.

According to students and faculty, the current ratio of mental health counselors to students is 1 for every 1,876 students, which is far less than the 1 to 1,000 ratio required in the new deal for CUNY.  

“I feel like it would benefit me speaking to advisors and other people in my major, especially in my graduation process, because even now I still struggle to find and speak to an advisor,”  Salas says. 

Council Member Eric Dinowitz says CUNY has had an impact on families in New York City. 

“More than half of our students come from families with incomes less than $30,000… CUNY is providing an incredible opportunity for them to do better for themselves and their families,” said Dinowitz.

The state budget is due Friday.