LETTERS: SUNY autonomy, problem gambling, wasteful spending

Stony Brook faculty favors act's passage

Phillip H. Smith, the president of the United University Professions, expresses reservations about the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act ["Despite gift offer, SUNY not for sale," Letters, July 23].

Smith's views on the act do not represent those of UUP members at Stony Brook. The Stony Brook University Senate voted overwhelmingly to support the act.

We support the act - which did not pass along with the budget but could come up again when the legislature reconvenes - because it will provide some relief from massive funding cuts the State University of New York has undergone; because it rationalizes tuition while mandating a rate of increase no greater than historical patterns; because it provides protection for students who need financial aid; because it will allow us to provide a world-class education with tuition well below that of other Northeastern states.

We deplore Smith's claim that the conditionality of a proposed $150-million contribution means that Stony Brook is "up for sale." James Simons does not want his donation to be used to patch budget holes created by the state's failure to fund the university adequately.

Michael Schwartz

Arthur Samuel

Stony Brook

Editor's note: Michael Schwartz is a professor of sociology and president of the Stony Brook University Senate; Arthur Samuel is a professor and chairman of the Department of Psychology at the university.

Casinos' human cost As chairman of the communications committee and a national trustee representing Gamblers Anonymous on Long Island, I read "Get ready to place your bet" [Editorial, Aug. 2] with great interest. I would like to share my experience with casinos coming to communities.

Before Empire City Casino came to Yonkers, we had a Gamblers Anonymous room in that community that had three to four regular attendees and was in danger of closing. Now that the casino has opened, the room has more than 20 regular attendees and is flourishing. I hear the pain and misery that the casino brought to its community on a weekly basis.

I hope elected officials attend a meeting to understand that this revenue comes at a high price for many.

Tom Zbikowski

Locust Valley

Fancy electric signs

How is it that taxes are stretching us to our limits and we are being told to go green, yet every school and firehouse I pass has a new electronic sign telling me to have a nice summer or giving me the temperature?

Do we really need these signs? How much did they cost to buy, install and run? Was anything greener than the old signs? When are officials going to stop wasting our hard-earned dollars?

Bruce Poulos

Massapequa