"I came to Suny Geneseo because I could afford it," says SUNY Geneseo student  Nicholas Kaasick.

But Suny Geneseo Junior Nicholas Kaasick says SUNY is slowly becoming unaffordable. And thats why he and twelve other students have been camping outside since Sunday.

"The state is really leaving us out in the cold. We;re gonna be stuck with a lower quality of education and higher costs to pay for it," says Kaasick.

According to the United University Professions, a new york state union, students have been picking up more of the tab for what it takes to run SUNY. In the early 1990s, student tuition covered about 25 percent of SUNY's operating budget. But because of budget cuts and tuition hikes, student tuition now covers 55 percent of the budget.

"The student to faculty ratio is 40 to 1. And that's embarrassing. Its not the teachers fault, its the administrators fault. Its because the state of ny keeps cutting funding to the SUNY system," says Kaasick.

But for these college students, camping out just wasn't enough, that's why they decided to take a much louder approach.
About 120 students rallied at the SUNY Geneseo administration building to protest the continued tuition increases. They shouted, held up signs and even called Governor Paterson personally.

"We're upset about that because we're no longer able to maintain the quality of our education and we're just seeing fewer faculty, fewer courses," says Brian Hartle.

Kaasick says if things dont change soon, students make look elsewhere. 

"We're really the future of New York State. Eighty percent of the students come back and stay within the state. If the state doesnt provide us with a great education we're gonna look to other states and live there."

Those new hikes have to be approved by the state legislature and the governor before they take effect.