A few months back, I wrote an article about why I am proud to go to my school. Shortly after I wrote it, the New York Times published an article detailing CUNY's financial crisis - budget cuts, underpaid professors and crumbling buildings. The New York Times article was widely shared among my classmates, who all expected better from CCNY's administration. Also around that time, there was talk of an excellence fee, a tuition hike for students in the engineering department. Students also spoke out against this, circulating petitions to shut down the fee.

Now, the New York Times has published yet another article about City College's financial state. It was discovered that an account meant to contain a $500,000 donation for the humanities and arts departments had only $76. Some of this money was being used for president Lisa Coico's personal expenses, such as "fruit baskets, housekeeping services and rugs."

Despite all this, I am still proud of my school. But at the same time, I am also disappointed in it. My school's administration has mishandled its money, and students are feeling the effects of this first hand.

Last year, during finals week, I was working in a computer lab in Steinman for a final group project. Our group had to print out a few pages showing our work and hand them in - simple enough. While we were there, the printers in the lab ran out of paper. When I asked a professor for a refill, I found out that the engineering department was not able to provide paper for its own printers; the students had to bring it themselves. In the middle of finals week, when I could have been studying or getting other work done, I had to transfer the entire project to a USB, walk to NAC, wait for a computer in the ever busy library, print the project, and bring it back to Steinman. All because the engineering department couldn’t afford to refill its printers.

Though I am not a student in the humanities department, I have friends who are. Small class sizes are necessary for certain majors. A writing workshop is not meant to be the size of a lecture – the professor should be able to do individualized work with each student’s writing, and this becomes impossible in large classes. I know people who worry about classes in their major or program getting cut, which might inhibit their ability to graduate on time. All the while, professors are still underpaid and haven’t had a raise in years.

I don’t think there’s ever been a day when every single escalator I’ve encountered in NAC has been working. I’ve witnessed pieces of ceiling fall to the ground in Marshak. Our school’s buildings are falling apart because of easily solvable problems, and this is not an environment conducive to learning.

I'm not asking for all the fancy amenities of an expensive private college. That's not what our school is. The point is, if someone makes a generous donation to City College, we need that money. CCNY’s goal since it has been founded is to provide an opportunity for education to all people. It’s ranked one of the best value schools in the United States; many underprivileged students who otherwise might not be able to afford college are able to get a good education here. Our school owes it to them to provide the best education possible.

Yes, I am proud of my school. I am proud of the students who go there. I’ve truly met some of the most intelligent, hardworking and inspirational people I know, both students and professors, while I’ve been here. They deserve a fair and balanced budget.