MANY VOICES, ONE CALL
MANY VOICES, ONE CALL
Many Voices - One Call: Season Four/Episode Three: "With TRIO We Stand!"
On February 28th, 2025 we'll celebrate the 60th anniversary of the TRIO federal education programs. Established in 1965, TRIO was designed to help those who are economically vulnerable — including veterans, individuals with disabilities, and first-generation college students — achieve higher education.
At SUNY Schenectady, over 80% of students qualify for one of TRIO’s programs whose positive impact in fostering academic success and supporting long-term achievement is well-documented, particularly for students who face significant challenges.
And still, TRIO is at risk! Although a temporary funding bill (aka a “continuing resolution”) passed Congress at just the last minute, and despite a long record of bipartisan support, cuts to the program are a real possibility; the threat of funding delays is endangering key areas of staffing and student support.
The current short-term spending bill is set to expire on March 14. The new administration and Congress have the potential to introduce funding cuts for the remainder of 2025. These cuts could directly affect TRIO programs, particularly the number and size of grants awarded in the ongoing TRIO Student Support Services competition—a process that includes our own TRIO program at SUNY Schenectady.
In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Babette Faehmel and Archer Abbott discuss the significance of TRIO programs with their guests, explore what the program does, why it's crucial, and how we can help ensure the programs continue to receive funding.
Joining them are: Mary T Silvestri, Director of TRIO, Maura Davis, TRIO Academic Specialist, and Tiombé Tatum, Chief of Staff and former TRIO Academic Specialist. As well as the student members of TRIO; Deviyani (Devi) Singh, Imani Romain, Jasmatie (Jasmyn) Lutawan, Hanif Thompson, and Corey Bub.
If you’d like to learn more and get involved, please visit the Council for Opportunity in Education website. You may also go straight to their advocacy page to show your support at https://coenet.org/advocacy/
The views voiced on this episode reflect the lived experiences and uncensored opinions of the guests; they do not necessarily capture the full diversity of attitudes within a larger community, nor do they express an official view of SUNY Schenectady.
Welcome to Many Voices. One Call, SUNY Schenectady's very own diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice and civics podcast. I'm your host, Babette Faehmel, history professor here at the college.
Archer:And I'm Archer Abbott, a sociology student here at SUNY Schenectady, a civic engagement intern with the Empire State Civic Service Corps and the student co-host of this podcast.
Babette:And we are joined today by Mary Silvestri. Mary, what do you do at the college?
Mary:Hi, I'm the director of TRIO.
Babette:And Maura Davis? Maura, what do you do?
Maura:I am an academic specialist with the TRIO program.
Babette:And also Tiombe Tatum. Tiombe, what do you do?
Tiombe:I am the chief of staff at the college.
Babette:Well, welcome, and we also have students with us.
Archer:We have Devi Singh. Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself?
Deviyani (Devi) :I'm Deviyani Singh. I go by Devi for short. I graduated in May with my associate's degree in business administration. I returned to complete my certificate in entrepreneurship, which I just finished up, and I'm just here.
Archer:Okay, congratulations, thank you. We're also joined by Corey Bubb. Would you like to tell a little about yourself?
Corey:Yes, hello, I'm Corey Bubb. I just finished my classes to earn my programming for game design associate's degree and I am a student ambassador for the TRIO program.
Archer:Awesome! And we have Imani Romaine.
Imani:Hi, I'm Imani Romaine. I am a psychology major at the school. I am also the student trustee for the SGA.
Archer:Awesome, and we have Hanif Thompson.
Hanif:Hi, my name is Hanif Thompson. I'm currently pursuing a degree in history to transfer to political science and I work in TRIO.
Archer:And Jasmyn Lutawan.
Jasmatie (Jasmyn) :Hello, my name is Jasmatie Lutawan. I go by Jasmine. I am a computer science major here, just finished my associates and I'm working towards my certificate in computer repair and networking in the spring semester. I'm also a TRIO student and a student senator on the SGA.
Babette:Wonderful, awesome. Welcome everyone!
Babette:All right. Well, the topic that brings us here today is actually... it's a budget fight, and it's not the New York State budget, not the college budget, it's the federal budget. We are recording on December 17, and Congress actually has until December 20 to finalize and pass a Continuing Resolution or face a partial shutdown of the federal government.
Archer:And even if this Continuing Resolution passes, there are some concerns about the new administration's funding priorities and plans for higher education. As current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, said, once the new administration comes in it'll be time to enact an aggressive reform agenda and if precedent is guide, this agenda could affect education funding a lot.
Babette:So, according to Inside Higher Ed, the last Trump administration proposed slashing the education department's budget every year he was in power. And its 2020 budget called for a 5.6 billion reduction in funding, which amounts to a nearly 8% cut. And back then these proposals didn't come to fruition, but Inside Higher Ed warns that with a fully Republican-controlled Congress, this time might be different.
Archer:Another indication of pending cuts to federal funding for education is also the establishment of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The department's stated goal is to streamline federal operations by identifying and eliminating perceived inefficiencies.
Babette:And on the campaign trail, Mr Musk promised to find $2 trillion that could be eliminated from the federal government's $6.75 trillion budget. A nd Mr Ramaswamy proposed laying off 75% of the federal workforce and to abolish agencies like the FBI, IRS and the Department of Education.
Archer:Now, budget fights in Congress are not usually what we talk about here, but, Mary, you believe that this one might actually have an impact here at SUNY Schenectady. Would you be willing to fill us in?
Mary:Sure. So one of the programs on campus that has a huge impact here is TRIO, and we are actually federally funded through the Department of Education, and so I think it's critical that we start talking about what that impact would have on our campus if we were to lose some of our funding, or even if there was just a delay in the funding, of what that could look like on our campus and what it could mean to our students, especially here. Our students are critical and their success is critical to not just the campus but our community, and I think if we start talking to our students, you're going to see how important this program is here. I think we can highlight some of our successes if we talk with Maura, too, just what our program means here. Maura, do you want to talk a little bit of what you describe our program and what it is? I think Maura does a really great job of talking about what TRIO really is on our campus.
Maura:Yeah, thanks, absolutely. I still feel pretty new to the program, but I've been here... Tomorrow will mark my one-year anniversary as a TRIO academic specialist, so obviously I have a lot to learn. But one thing I learned is that we often have upwards of 175 students in our program. 86% of the students on campus do qualify for the program, so it's a large population here.
Maura:And I always say that we don't run one TRIO program, we run 175 TRIO programs simultaneously because it's our students who shape it. Everybody comes in the door with different trajectories, with different goals and with different challenges, and TRIO is capable of meeting everybody's needs, not just in a blanket approach, but working with individuals, right? So I'm lucky that I get to sort of design each person's TRIO program alongside them and help our students find out how am I going to use this resource, right? How does it work for them? So, I'm really excited for you to all hear from some of them who really do make the TRIO program work and who have really found the way to make it an advantage to them, not just an overarching, ' Oh, you can come here, you can get these set resources,' and you're done.
Mary:So let me kind of just elaborate what TRIO is, though, for the person who doesn't understand. TRIO is a program... We are a student support service, and so we support students who are underrepresented across most college campuses. So to be able to apply to be in TRIO, you have to meet one of three criteria for our program. So you have to be a first generation student, which means y y i d parents getting a college degree. You could be a person who meets economic need, or you receive ADA services. You have some disability that allows you to be part of TRIO.
Mary:So, generally speaking, these students, when they come to college, have some need that isn't met in most ways right. So they come to campus and so there's technically what some would say is disadvantaged coming to campus right For first-gen students. Really, what that means is your parents did not get a college degree, they don't have the support or background maybe to help them figure out the college experience right, and we talk about this a lot and I talk with the students a lot about they don't have the supports to help them figure out how to do college right, because college is difficult, sometimes the processes are not easy to figure out and navigate, and so just having somebody to have your back to figure out those processes is really helpful, and so when you're first gen, usually you don't have a parent who's gone through that process or a family member, and so TRIO becomes that person who can help you through those experiences.
Babette:Okay, and Tiombe, I believe you worked as a TRIO education specialist too, before you became chief of staff.
Tiombe:Yes, I did.
Babette:Do you want to add to any of this piggyback off of what Mary was saying?
Tiombe:The resources and the services provided in TRIO are so valuable and it literally changed students' outlook and ability to succeed in class and in school. One of the things that I really liked about TRIO, too, is that we get on the level of helping students understand different terminology that's used. I remember helping students know what the bursar's office was, what matriculated meant, what credit bearing or non-credit bearing meant, especially in regards to matriculation, and these were terms that, although students have been in school probably a semester or two, they still were unfamiliar with, and it was critical that they understood what those terms meant in order to access the different services and resources for them. So TRIO was just as impactful for me as an academic specialist. I love the work and I love what TRIO does for students. Yeah.
Babette:I have to say I was actually quite surprised when I was talking about this, the topic of this episode. A lot of people don't know what TRIO is and what TRIO does, and those people that I have in mind are people who have kids in college and sometimes some of them even work in higher education. It just shows you how compartmentalized we sometimes get. If you don't need the services, then you are not aware of it, and then you might also not be aware of the significance of funding delays and such things.
Babette:Now, Mary, you shared some figures with with me before the podcast. It's really pretty impressive TRIO does does, just in terms of numbers. So they are um. The persistence rate of TRIO students is 6% higher than the college overall rate. The student degree attainment rate was 24% higher than the general college student population, and those are impressive numbers. But I think the most impressive thing to hear is probably what students themselves say about what TRIO means to them and what it did for them. So maybe we can pivot to the student testimonials at this point. Who wants to start?
Babette:All right, they're all pointing at each other. Corey!
Corey:Oh, yes, uh, yeah, just so the listeners know, all of the students did the side eyeing, like, who's gonna go first?
Corey:Who's? going to go first? Who's going to go first?
Babette:They were playing hard to get.
Corey:Yeah Well, I joined this school in the fall semester of 2021, I was pretty nervous.
Corey:I was very new to the college experience, and, I was diagnosed when I was very young with uh, what is now known as type 1 autism, which, throughout my life, had caused various educational difficulties and developmental problems that I needed great assistance to be able to overcome and get where I am now, Overcome with transitioning get where I am now and transitioning from my local high school, where I was very familiar with the area and familiar with the environment, to this slightly larger, more diverse community.
Corey:lot of people, but it was very difficult for me when I started and so, being registered with ADA Transition Services, they let me know about TRIO and I was able to get my application in and I was able to get to know the advisors there and just, they were always so inviting and so welcoming.
Corey:They were really available any time that I really needed them. It was very easy to just walk in and be able to speak with them and, while I mostly utilized their assistance in my schoolwork, I also had various challenges that were outside of school that they were also able to help provide insight for, and I just felt really grateful for that I heard that they were offering some of their members the opportunity to become student ambassadors and to actually work in the TRIO office and be able to help in their efforts to provide support for students like me. I was really excited to be able to have that opportunity. So I was able to come on and I just felt like really included in this special community on this campus where I really hadn't had that opportunity, As, being this more introverted person.
Babette:Yeah, I really like what Mary said. TRIO is is like a person. Like, that person who knows college and who is that kind of like, has a like I don't know. It's the wind in your back and just kind of guides you through this maze. I mean, I'm a first college, first generation college student too, and in Germany, we don't have those things. L ike, it's like sink or swim. Um, who wants to go next? Jaz?
Jasmatie (Jasmyn) :Yeah, um, it's Jasmyne. So I started here in January 2023 and I um I'm an international student. I'm also a first generation student and I started off like just attending classes mainly and doing the required coursework, and I was a very strong academic student. However, after joining TRIO, I was able to explore new opportunities and avenues, and those things include things like applying for scholarships like uh applying for scholarships and then now I'm trans, uh, looking to transfer as well, transfer planning as well. That was a huge one for me.
Jasmatie (Jasmyn) :They also supported me in um applying to the TRIO leadership summit um, hopefully I can be able to attend that and talk more about TRIO yeah and my leadership skills, and they've also greatly served me as a first-generation student because, walking in here as a first-generation student, also from a completely different country in another continent, it was really helpful to have the support that they offer so that I know how to navigate all these resources that are there for me that sounds awesome.
Babette:So it's not really academic success and academic supports while you're here, but it's also opening up like vistas, what you can do after and that's awesome. All right, Hanif, or Imani or Devi?
Deviyani (Devi) :I'll go next.
Babette:Okay, Devi.
Deviyani (Devi) :Trio has been amazing. I've been going here since fall of 22, and that's when I joined TRIO. That was before we had Mary as our director.
Deviyani (Devi) :I attended many workshops. There was a financial aid one I attended. I want to say there was two or three of those. I attended all of those. There were many other workshops I can't remember because it's been like two, three years ago. Um, trio helped me as, in the process of helping me, transfer planning all of us, matter of fact, we've been transfer planning since we're all transferring, we're gonna miss this place. Um, since I joined TRIO, I've gained more confidence in myself. I've been speaking up. I've just been more confident in myself.
Deviyani (Devi) :I am more socializing all these people I knew, Jasmyne and Hanif during my internship, but since TRIO we've just gotten closer and closer with everyone for that matter. And that's it for now.
Babette:Okay, that's a lot already, right? I think a lot of times we think that what mainly matters is that you pass class and that you get great grades. But it's not! right? I mean, you learn so much other things: leadership skills and networking and all that kind of stuff. Hanif, do you want to go next?
Hanif:Yeah, I'll go next. So coming from a household where the parent didn't have a degree, TRIO helped me understand the dynamics of how school worked and essentially gave me the ability to be more comfortable in my academic career because, coming from that type of environment, you feel the need to always be successful. So it gave me room to understand that there may be imperfections, but as long as you continue to strive, you can do good things.
Babette:And last but not least, Imani.
Imani:Hi Imani. So for TRIO for me, I came in, I came here, I started I want to started honestly last fall of 2023, um, that's when I joined. I wasn't really active, honestly, and, uh, I got active more so in the summertime, more so and I felt like I was failing my classes. I was like I can't fail this, I can't do it. So I went to more. I was like I need your help.
Imani:I hate, to admit it, and I'm one of those.
Imani:I don't like asking for help. I've always been like that. I came from a a background where we I was raised by a bunch of women who were strong, independent had their own jobs, had everything for themselves and did not ask for help so it's like I had to learn when to ask for help.
Imani:Um, so you know that when you see yourself struggling, you're like, okay, all these people are around me. Ask one of them at least. I've also made a bunch of friends here. I also have ADHD. I was diagnosed when I was five. So for me as a kid it was like, oh, she's that annoying girl. But here I don't feel that way. I'm around people that are just like me, ADHD or have, or who have autism or who are just neurodivergent, or just anything, and I've I'm like, okay, I feel at home, I feel at peace where you don't. Everybody else thinks when you have ADHD they're like she can, can't do these things, and I'm like let me show you I can. I'm going to show you I can do it. So it's like being here. It gives me that sense of calmness.
Imani:It makes me feel good.
Deviyani (Devi) :Devi, I have something to add. Trio provides us with a lot of opportunities. Over the summer, they took us to DC this, uh, a few weeks ago they took us to New York City. Oh and this I heard a little birdie saying we're either going to PA or Boston next summer. Hey, hey, nice and we actually got the opportunity to tour the historic center right here, the Stockade, the Stockade,
Babette:Oh really?
Maura:Yeah, we did a haunted history tour this fall where we talked to the Schenectady County Historical Society and we walked around the Stockade and we learned about history and some ghost stories.
Archer:That's pretty cool.
Deviyani (Devi) :My favorite one is Adopting Pep. What was cool, nice. My favorite one is adopting Pep.
Babette:What was that, Devi?
Deviyani (Devi) :My favorite one was adopting Pep!
Maura:Devi, could you please tell the audience who Pep is to TRIO?
Deviyani (Devi) :Pep is our ghost dog that we adopted on one of our trips in the historic center.
Babette:Okay,
Deviyani (Devi) :Yeah, we are wearing the shirt. He's right here.
Imani:It's crazy. On this stockade tour I was limping the whole time and they're all like 'are you okay, let's hold her.'
Maura:And I kind of want to take that opportunity. I don't want to speak over my students, but just to say that it is... We do academic things, we do financial planning, we do life skills, we do a little bit of counseling. I always say I use the meme that did you ever feel like you needed an adult? But then you realize that you are an adult, like around for another adult, an adultier adult, somebody maybe successfully adulting that day, somebody maybe successfully adulting that day and and and on an academic level or on a scholastic level or just for the campus TRIO does does try to be that so it's a lot of homework, it's a lot of financial planning, it's a lot of seminars, it's a lot of um, very traditional supports.
Maura:But I think those moments about you know, to watch my students adopt Pep the ghost dog and um, and now he's a logo and he's a, he's a whole inside joke, um, and just to see how this cohort takes it to the next level. That's why I say we run all these individual programs, but they're really the ones who make TRIO work, and it works best when students define what TRIO is, and they don't TRIO define define what they are so...
Mary:And I and I'll just back up Maura, sorry, Devi, one more thing.
Mary:One of the best parts o f watching everybody in this TRIO program is that it is student-led, and the first week of classes I watched students come in and say to other students hey, I took that class, let me help you. Tutor in that class, I'm going to help you, do you need something? And that's what TRIO is really about. It's about other students finding each other and being able to assist each other. And as much as we have our academic specialists, we don't have Doug and Janice here, who are also in the program helping out, but it's about the students and how they interact and find each other and to become each other's supports.
Mary:And when you come up to the TRIO office it's usually chaos and it's usually loud and there's lots of people and lots of things going on and it seems like nothing's really getting done. But you go into an office and there's usually three or four people working on a paper or doing their transfer notebooks and somebody else is in the computer lab working on papers and things are going on. But then there's also tons of laughing and joking and things going on. And then somebody's in my office or Maura's office or Doug's, and we're hearing life stories or you know somebody's debriefing about their, their whole social life, of you know of what's going on, and but that's the beauty of it it really is it's.
Mary:it's a community that you develop and when you're coming into school especially like SUNY Schenectady, where we're a commuter school and sometimes that campus life is lost we've developed it, we've created it here. So, you have that and you know I laugh and joke and I was like nobody's going home for break. They're all still on campus, right? Everybody should be gone, and yet TRIO is full, right, is alive.
Mary:We have a crazy holiday tree that is very non-denominational, it's just sticks and we've got everybody still coming up to the offices because it's it's a home, right? We found a home on campus and that's the beauty of a TRIO program. Students find their home on campus and I think that's the importance of it and that's why we don't want to see the funding, or see these things lost and gone for it.
Babette:But let me be devil's advocate reluctantly here, right? I mean, you have a beautiful community there and those are wraparound supports and the life skills and everything is really amazing. But if I was a parent who doesn't see a value in a college degree for my kid, or if I'm just like some, I don't know some taxpayer in the community, why is this important? I mean like on a larger scale, not just like for individual, like individually for students, on a kind of like societal level, right? Why does this matter?
Maura:I think I have a good answer for that, and that's because our students are not just students. They won't be students forever. We've heard from some people who have already graduated who are graduating, already graduated, who are graduating. So even if you're not interested and nobody in your family is interested in the college degree and you can't see the value of the degree itself, consider that our students will also be your co-workers.
Maura:They might be your managers. They might be people that you're going to be working closely with, that you're going to count on, when the chips are down, to have good critical thinking skills, to have good interpersonal skills, to have a good base as a human being. These are not just students. These are the future leaders, these are future team members and they are going to be the driving force not only of this connected community, but I mean I know Hanif is planning to look at international relations, for example right? So these students are going to go out and touch more than just the campus community. They're going to touch our local community. They're going to touch the local communities where they go.
Maura:They're going to be involved in businesses. They're going to be involved in politics, some of them. They're going to be involved in businesses. They're going to be involved in politics. Some of them. They're going to be involved in all the different ways that the world around everyone works and they're going to be your co-workers. They're going to be people that you have to interact with. And do you want your future co-worker, do you want your future neighbor, to have a strong foundation and understand what community means, understand the value of that and to have a strong head on their shoulders and have these this chance to hone these skills of cooperation, compassion Self-advocacy, right? ... Self-advocacy and advocacy seeing none of these students, as you notice, described, coming from this same community but they advocate for each other as strongly, as they advocate for themselves.
Babette:So it's also fosters like a feeling of like community cohesion and like ... solidarity with others, even though you're not, like, related to them, or anything like that
Maura:Exactly! And and we don't all get along all the time. nd have to navigate tricky social moments where maybe we disagree, right. But these students find a way to make it work and I think navigating, working with people that aren't exactly like you and don't come exactly from where you come from. This opportunity doesn't exist in third spaces. There's no class at your job. Usually there's no get-along-vote class where they all put you together and make sure that you can work as a cohesive, functioning team. But that's what TRIO is ensuring for future students, because they're not just students, they're community.
Babette:Archer, you, I believe, are not just Empire State Civic Corps intern, but also a TRIO member, correct?
Archer:Yeah.
Babette:So do you want to add to what everybody has already been saying?
Archer:I mean, first off, like you can totally tell that there's a very strong sense of community here just by seeing the chemistry that you all have together, like they they all are laughing it up and it's like they're best friends and it's really really cool to see that that can come from an environment where students generally can feel alienated by all of the you know adulting stuff that we have to, that we're new to and we have to learn and figure out and, like I have, I have issues asking for help and stuff.
Archer:But just the little, the little bit of support that I have accepted from TRIO has helped a lot. That I have accepted from TRIO has helped a lot. Seeing the email check-ins and the kudos through Starfish and stuff and the little bit of financial help that I get. It just makes a world of difference and it's really cool knowing that if I ever do want or need to ask for help, that there is that cohesive community there to provide help for me.
Babette:Isn't it odd that we find odd that we find it so difficult to ask for help? Where's that
Babette:Okay, I think I mean, obviously you don't have to convince me, because I'm like a product of higher education and education and I mean like this is like absolutely for me, this is like family. But I think we are up, we are on, or we are up against a public debate about the value of higher education, even if it's only an associate degree, right, I mean like it's not just an associate degree, it's an associate degree, but even that, like how would you respond to that? I mean, I want to hear actually from the students, your degree, your classes, your communities what does it do for you, what does it do for us as a community? Why do we need college-educated people? Why do we need so many of them? What does it do to you?
Imani:Um. So for me, like, um, I'm from the city, so, as I tell people, when people ask me like why do you move up here and stuff, I'm like, being from the city, you would think you have so many opportunities. You really don't. There's so many there because it's a big populated neighborhood, it's you don't get that many opportunities, but up here, because it's so small, everybody, every single person, has an opportunity. So it's like for me, being here, I decided I wanted to go into guidance counseling because I want and I want to be a guidance counselor.
Imani:I want to go back home to the city, though, and help those students see that it's not just about working. It's not just about I'm gonna go work in retail I'm going to go work at a fast food chain because I need money, but I want to help them find a career path that they love and that they're not going to regret later in life. And coming here and being in these programs, you get to see what you actually like to do. You get to hang out with these people and be like, okay, I wanted to do this, but now I don't. I think I actually want to go help people. Or for me and my friend we were talking about. He wants to be governor. He was like I would like you to be my lieutenant governor. We have different views.
Imani:I think you could do it, so just getting seeing that it's amazing and you you don't, you're not gonna have that if you don't have stuff like this.
Babette:Devi.
Deviyani (Devi) :There's something I want to add, but my mind is blank right now.
Babette:All right, it will come back.
Jasmatie (Jasmyn) :I think what I'd say for someone to convince someone as to why students need a degree, I'd use the example of your doctor. I think you would want your doctor to have an education and know what they're doing. Um, and here at SUNY Schenectady we offer a lot of courses that build you up in that pre-med level so you can go on and get those degrees and be educated and knowledgeable in your field so you know what to do yeah, yeah um, me and jasmine are from the same country and I think she can agree the education there isn't the best.
Deviyani (Devi) :Higher education over here is amazing I we all fell in love with our education. We all love having our education, the bonds, the memories. We're all gonna miss each other when we transfer from here. Um. Higher education is it's a lot of opportunity. You get to learn all these new stuff, you get to find yourself, you get to make these bonds. It's just higher education is needed, like Jasmyn said the example of your doctor.
Imani:I'm gonna add on to that, like the bond she was talking about. Like we all in, we're actually all in different degree programs, so higher education, like I'm a psychology major. But I like to ask Jasmyn sometime about computer stuff because, I don't understand it, but she'll know it. And like I, take a history class, I don't understand it and I don't particularly it, but she'll know it.
Imani:And like I take a history class, I don't understand it and I don't particularly enjoy history, but Hanif does, so I called him like can you just read over this essay? I don't think it's good, but can you read it? And, knowing people from those different majors, it helps and you get to find that and be like I actually do have an interest in this. I might not want to do it forever, but maybe this could be a hobby. Maybe I can do this.
Deviyani (Devi) :No one's asking me about the business.
Imani:It's okay, I'm coming back. You know I want to start my business, don't worry.
Imani:I'll be calling you and be like I need you now.
Jasmatie (Jasmyn) :And also, to add to that, I think one of the other great things that higher education provides for his students is a, a bunch of new connections and network, and that way, all these connections, network, eventually help you in the future when you um yeah, when you become something in society and later in life, like we've, um. A few of us are on the SGA, we've attended a SUNY assembly conference and we actually made quite a few friends there and we're connecting with each other to build our leadership and become future leaders.
Deviyani (Devi) :Yeah, absolutely. One thing I learned in higher education is never burn a bridge. You're always going to go back. Hey, I worked with this person. I know them, they know how I work, they know my work ethic.
Babette:Yeah, yeah. So I mean it sounds awesome, obviously. But once again back to the devil's advocate thing. So a senior fellow at the conservative think tank, the American Enterprise, has argued that under the new administration, has argued that under the new administration, there should be more of an attention to be paid to what kind of degree programs receive federal financial aid and there should be measurements imposed that like, for instance, what are the employment prospects, what is the rate of student debt? How do you think about, like, this question of choice and freedom to pick your degree and for certain degrees not to be measured and when it comes to allocating funds based on your employment prospects? It seems a very rational way of thinking about education and education funding thoughts.
Imani:I think every, I think everybody needs funding everybody because, let's be honest, we all listen to music here if you don't have music majors, you don't have artists you don't have that if you don't have computer majors, you don't have this technology and it doesn't get upgraded.
Imani:Okay, you don't have history majors, you don't have things to look back on and be like okay, well, they did this. Let's, let's go back to basics. You need all these things, so you have to fund these things or you don't have anybody I appreciate that pitch for history majors I think one of the biggest things it does is take away self-agency.
Hanif:Oh, Because if you're not able to pursue a degree you want, then you're going to be trapped in a cycle of being, in a sense of unhappiness, and also it will take away the ability to be able to say well, I went for what I wanted to go for and I'm secure in my decision and what I chose to do with my life.
Imani:Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, oh yeah, oh yeah, and since I didn't bring up business, majors, my bad you don't have CEOs if you don't have business majors, let's be honest, you don't have these retail companies. If you don't have business majors, you need your CEO.
Mary:I am so proud of these guys because these answers are amazing and I love it. On top of it, what about innovation? Oh yeah you take away people, creating I mean the majors that you don't think of today are the ones that tomorrow become the innovators right. So we don't even know what we don't think of as important today are the ones that tomorrow are the ones that are are creating and inventing the new things. So I I just think it's unbelievable your, your answers are amazing.
Mary:I am so impressed with everybody in this room. This is amazing, you guys are.
Maura:I don't know. I want to agree with Mary too, because I'm a child of the 80s. I was the kid who everybody thought video games were going to ruin our minds and the internet is something we should stay off of.
Babette:Completely useless exploits, absolutely.
Maura:Right, and now I'm watching if we're going to really judge by who is the most employable right Computer programming game development, game design.
Maura:We have two in the room right now and I'm working on transfer stuff with one of them and job prospects look great in these categories. So I really I think that's a great example of what Mary said. That is, today it's not considered an invaluable, major. Tomorrow it might be the cutting edge of the skill that everybody needs.
Mary:Plus, I was a philosophy major, so I really can't talk about this.
Babette:So in other words, we don't even know what we are educating people for, because we don't. I mean, nobody knows the future and we just make need to make sure that we have agile like agile thinkers and comprehensively educated minds.
Maura:I think agile thinkers is the perfect word, because it's a lot of hoopers to say. I mean, we look at weather forecasts. We forecast what the weather is going to be like, right, but I'm not going to throw my umbrella out if they say there's an 80% chance of it being sunny next week. Things change quickly, right? So a job forecast today? It's just that it's a forecast.
Babette:Yeah, I think there are also a lot of things that we can measure objectively and then other things that are less measurable and I mean that kind of like sense of community and I don't know like, like, just just this sort of um, like mutual adoration and help and support. That's what should make our society right, absolutely. Those are qualities that you can cultivate by introducing people to community and mentors and coaches and whatnot right.
Archer:I'd also just like to piggyback off of what Hanif said with the self, the self efficacy um people, people our age, are already really concerned about economic troubles in in this country and putting more limitations on what we are able to pursue as a career is just going to heighten the um, financial stress that we all kind of feel Like, especially with certain degrees. You kind of look, you have to look at it and be like would I like, do I think I could make a living off of this? Would I have to get another job? And that's already limiting as it is.
Archer:And if people don't even try to go into those you know take a chance kind of career paths, then they wouldn't be able to find these mentors that make such a big difference in their life and that and be shown that they can actually pursue their goals to the end that they want to. Um, and I think the the talk about economics would be a good segue into um the you know what? What would happen if TRIO funding is cut? Like what, what? How would that affect students on the ground?
Mary:So really, um, our program, that means staff. So if we take a cut, we lose staff right away. Um, so that means in our office I have Doug, Maura and Janice and that means losing some of those staff, right, so, and that loses the support for our students right off the rip. So for every student that's there, that's one less person to help with papers, talking through problems. Those additional supports, every resource that we have, right, we have about 175. Last year we were closer to supporting 200 students. Right now we're closer to that 175 mark right now because we had so many graduates last year, but that's about for each person there's four of us. That's about 50 people per student.
Mary:So we cut that, say, I lose two staff members. That's 100 people per person. Right, so the supports become less, right, and that's just cutting people. That's not talking about the extras, right, we talked about trips, going away, doing things going and doing extra programming, being able to have food right at events and do things. Food insecurity is a real thing, right, it's huge on our campus and we're talking about students, some who don't have enough income and support, so this is a real issue and being able to hold events where we can have food at an event is really important, and so these are really huge issues. Being able to bring in speakers who can talk about financial literacy not having those opportunities.
Mary:These are really big concerns that I think about in our programming and then it becomes an issue of can we really sustain a program if we only have two staff members? Can we really support our students? Because the federal government looks at our numbers. So I'm as the person in charge of our grant. I have to report to them and say here's our persistence right, here's how many students are doing well, here are our numbers, here's how many students are graduating and doing these things. But if I only have two staff members, am I able to maintain those numbers?
Mary:And the truth is I might not be able to do those things right, I might not be able to keep those, and then the grant goes away. So, realistically, when you lose staff members, you lose those abilities to keep the grant. So that's a real problem. The other real issue is right now we're in this real weird position where our grant cycle ends at the end of this year. So it's an unfortunate timing because we've applied for the next grant. So the federal governments and they've got our next grant and they're ready and they're looking at it, but they have to say yes to the next grant. So the question is, do they go with the next grant?
Jasmatie (Jasmyn) :Right.
Mary:So we have to get that yes from them that they're going to start another grant cycle that would start in September of 2025. So we're waiting for the federal government to give us the yes. The good news is that TRIO SSS, which is what we are a student support service, is one of many TRIO programs. There are different ones that support many of us, so we would hope that they would support. They couldn't really destroy all TRIO programs at once and we all have different start times and different dates. That would be just kind of like maybe a cut to a little bit of the funding, but got to be out there.
Mary:We got to show our support yeah we got to keep moving forward to keep trio going right. We've got to get people to look at trio and see the importance of our program so that would have been like our next question, I believe.
Babette:Um, because I mean, are we supposed to just like sit, sit and wait for Congress to like find like I don't know, like a solution, or to come to an agreement, or are there things we can actually do and that you would like listeners and supporters of the community here at SUNY Schenectady like to do?
Mary:Yeah, I think right now is a perfect time for us to start having the members of TRIO and for the community to start doing some outreach. This is a good time TRIO is hitting its 60-year celebration 1965, the Higher Education Act was enacted by President Johnson, and so that's when TRIO was enacted, and so it is a good time for us to start sending in letters to Congress and saying here's TRIO, here's why it's important we need to support it. There are 115 members of the TRIO caucus.
Maura:There are, and you can find a list of the members of the TRIO caucus on the Council for Opportunity in Education, the COE. Their website, is open. It's public facing. You don't have to work for a student support service to log on and to hear more about what we do, and they have a lot of advocacy opportunities, not only for our students, which we are engaging in. They gave us an advocacy packet how to reach out to Congress members, how to reach out to legislators in general. We want to invite some of our local legislators here to campus to see the TRIO program in action and to meet some of the amazing students that you saw today, because I think they sell it better than anything else. But, um, if the community is interested in getting involved, there are ways you can advocate. Um, the uh COE website has a lot of really useful information about what trio is, yeah, TRIO does, where it will be found in your community and how you can speak up for it.
Babette:They also have some very nice sample letters to send to your representatives and us with a lot of really great things and um nice little scripts for um a phone call absolutely and um, I think, um, like and like in the past, the best, the best way to support these kind of public programs is to show up, right, show up at a, at a meeting, and show up at events when you're representative or when, yeah, people come to campus and you want to bring your students to meet them. There should also be the community itself, should also, like the larger community, should also turn out to show their support.
Mary:is a bipartisan caucus. Yeah, and so there is support from both sides of the aisle. And so I think reaching out to both sides of the aisle is really important to keep that going, because I know that everything is very polarized at the moment but, having the support from both sides is really continuously important at this point, because the more we keep that support up and alive, the better it is for our trio program. TRIO
Mary:And so I think, reach out, continue to reach out. The more letters they receive from students and people who've been impacted by this program, the better it is for us. I think they need those voices absolutely, absolutely.
Babette:I mean, you definitely convinced me, but this was also kind of like, not too difficult considering, like what made me me?
Mary:They convinced you, they're amazing.
Babette:Absolutely absolutely no. These were super inspiring stories and also pretty good hard data and facts and everything. So, yeah, I think we kind of like got the message across. So, thank you. Thank you Mary, Maura, Tiombe, Debbie, Corey, Imani, Hanif, and Jasmyn.
Babette:Many Voices, one Call is made possible thanks to the contribution of the SUNY Schenectady Foundation. We are, as usual, grateful for the School of Music and, in particular, Sten Isachsen's continuing generous support with our technical needs. The recording and editing of this podcast was possible thanks to music students Benjamin Gravel and Connor Shearer. Heather Meaney, Karen Tansky, and Jessica McHugh- Green deserve credit for promoting the podcast.
Archer:Thanks also go to president, to the vice president of Academic Affairs, Mark Meacham, College President Steady Moono, and the Student Government Association and the Student Activities Advisor.
Babette:Thank you.