Several dozen undergraduate and graduate students angry over a proposed increase in comprehensive fees gathered in protest Wednesday outside the Student Activities Center, where a panel of administrators were conducting a panel discussion on that very issue.

The university is proposing an increase in fees, including the technology fee, transportation fee, infirmary fee, and athletics fee, which could amount to $121 per semester to support those areas of service. Administrators described those services as self-supporting programs on campus and said the fee increase is not set in stone.

"We are going to get significant input on this before we go forward," said Graham Glynn, assistant provost and executive director of teaching, learning and technology.

The Radical Students Union and the Research Assistants Union organized the protest, during which students expressed their sentiments both in posters – which read, for instance, "We're Young, We're Poor, We Can't Pay Anymore," "Chop From The Top" and "Students United Will Never Be Defeated" – and in speeches delivered through a megaphone, often laced with words that newspapers can't print.

"We need to educate people instead of putting them more in debt," said Aman Gill, a fifth year graduate student representing the RA Union.

The protest attracted the attention of students passing by, many of whom stopped to listen.

"It sucks, basically. It's not fair. I'm graduating, but I feel bad for everyone who won't have a chance for an affordable education," said Toni, a senior humanities major who declined to provide her last name.

While many oppose the fee increase, some are supportive of it.

"It doesn't seem like so much compared to what we're already paying," said Jennifer Deng, a junior chemistry major who is paying for her education through student loans and financial aid. "As long as that money is actually going for what they say it's for."

The protest also took a political turn, with students also railing against Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed cuts in state aid, which would amount to almost $67 million in losses for Stony Brook University and Stony Brook University Medical Center.

Stanley Joins Long Island Association Board

University president Samuel Stanley Jr. is one of several new additions to the Long Island Association's board of directors.

The announcement was made Feb. 17 at the association's annual meeting. Stanley joins more than 50 leaders in finance, education, technology, medicine, and other areas who come together to formulate ways to improve the quality of life and business on Long Island.

"The new members bring a great deal of financial expertise to our Board, which will assist us as we try to grow the economy here on LI, and the heads of the research institutions will help the LIA get Accelerate LI off the ground to create the jobs our region so desperately needs," said Kevin Law, president of the LIA, in a statement.

The board also includes, among others, Dr. Samuel Aronsen, director of Brookhaven National Laboratory; Michael Dowling, president and CEO of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System; John R. Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor; Stuart Rabinowitz, president of Hofstra University; Dr. Bruce Stillman, president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; and Helena Williams, president of the MTA Long Island Rail Road.