The New York Times published a devastating attack on the City University of New York (CUNY), where I’ve been teaching for nearly two decades, and the state’s criminal underfunding of a once-great institution. An above-the-fold photograph of a library at one of CUNY’s senior colleges features students studying at tables, surrounded by buckets strategically placed to catch the gallons of water dripping down from the ceiling.

It’s a near-perfect tableau of what it’s like to teach at CUNY today: excellent, hardworking students, encircled by shabbiness, disrepair, and neglect.

Though you should read the entire piece, here are some of the highlights.