Over a hundred and fifty years ago, after years of controversy and struggle, New Yorkers voted by a 6 to 1 margin to establish the Free Academy for the Poor Man’s Children. That trailblazer college removed the barrier of tuition for its first class of 149 college students and over the years has burgeoned into the City University of New York with 403,000 students and 20 colleges.
Achieving a free college was not easy. As early as 1805, concerned citizens had formed the Free Public Society to advocate free, nonsectarian schools in Manhattan. Organized labor joined the struggle to establish free universal education. Opponents of a free college claimed that “truly deserving” students could get scholarships to the two private colleges in the city. Townsend Harris, an outspoken advocate for public education, rejected “charity scholarships.” As the elected president of the Board of Education, he wrote, “Open the doors to all–let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together, and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct and intellect.”
How had the tuition-free City University been...
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