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Letter to the Editor of the New York Times: City University: On the Need to Save John Jay and Hostos

On March 8, 1976 the New York Times published two letters to the editor alongside each other. Acting President of John Jay College, Gerald W. Lynch, wrote to publicly oppose the proposed merger of John Jay College with Baruch College. He argued that such a merger was unlikely to yield the financial savings that elected officials sought, that the potential losses that would result were severe, and that there were viable alternatives to the merger that would avoid such sacrifices while achieving savings. In the second letter, Peter Roman, Chairman of the Social Sciences Department at Hostos, calls the cuts "senseless, cruel, and destructive." He names the many ways the college provides for the underserved community of the South Bronx and its Spanish speaking community.

In 1975, the New York City fiscal crisis led to efforts by city officials and the CUNY administration to close or merge multiple campuses in order to pay back debt owed to major banks. John Jay College was proposed to merge with Baruch College and Hostos Community College was slated to merge with Bronx Community College in order to dramatically cut spending. The proposals generated massive resistance on the part of students, faculty, and community groups.

Source | Hostos Community College Archives
Creators | Lynch, Gerald W.; Roman, Peter
Date Created | March 8, 1976
Rights | Copyright New York Times
Item Type | Text (Newspaper / Magazine / Journal)
Cite This document | Lynch, Gerald W. and Roman, Peter, “Letter to the Editor of the New York Times: City University: On the Need to Save John Jay and Hostos,” CUNY Digital History Archive, accessed March 19, 2024, https://cdha.cuny.edu/items/show/4442.

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