ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)–SUNY students from across the state made their way to the New York State Capitol to advocate for more SUNY funding.

At the Million Dollar Staircase, members of the SUNY Student Assembly called on lawmakers to further support higher education.

“We are just here to advocate for all the students in our system, to make sure everyone has a fair education and has all the resources to get just that,” said Tyler Johnson, a student at SUNY Oswego.

The students would like to see increased funding for tuition assistance, known as TAP.

“We are looking to raise the eligibility for TAP up to $125,000. Right now it’s been stagnant at $80,000 since 2001,” explained Brennan Gorman, a University at Buffalo student. “With inflation and increased costs of living, this is imparitive to us.”

That’s not all they are calling for.

“We are advocating for an increase in mental health funding, increasing support for students with disabilities and also support for the No Hunger Campus Act— so we can help eliminate food insecurity across our campuses,” explained Alexandria Chun, who goes to Binghamton University.

“Students with disabilities in higher education only receive about $2 million, so that would bring them up to $15 million for all their ventures, added Gorman.

Governor Hochul’s proposed budget allocates $176 million for SUNY Schools, with $32 million dollars going towards increasing financial aid to help cover tuition costs of New York residents. She also has proposed $1.5 billion for new capital projects at SUNY and CUNY campuses.