Education advocates to rally at the Capitol as budget cuts loom. The teachers are coming.
And the parents. And the librarians. Thousands of education advocates are expected to descend on the Capitol on Saturday to protest a multibillion-dollar budget hit to public schools under consideration by the Legislature. Reaction to the budget proposals released in early January has come in fits and starts — a PTA lobbying day here, a Capitol steps rally there. Save Texas Schools, a statewide coalition of education advocates, faith groups and business leaders, hopes to consolidate that reaction and send a resounding message to lawmakers "that this matters to a lot of people in our state," said Carolyn Foote, an Eanes school district librarian who participated in a flash mob at a busy South Austin intersection Sunday to promote the rally.
The efforts are set against a backdrop of a Republican-controlled Legislature that has vowed to balance the budget without raising taxes or tapping the state's rainy day fund. Weeks said the rally is a grass-roots endeavor. UC Berkeley Wheeler Hall Protest 03.03.2011. Share photos and videos on Twitter. UC Berkeley Police Beat Back Protesters, 3 March 2011. (nov 20)Berkeley Students Shot and Assaulted. Professor Carlos Muñoz, Solidarity Message to Hunger Strikers. Reginald James's photos - Crowd singing outside Wheeler "just like a tree, standing by the water" #cal #march2 #highered.
UC Berkeley Protest - Cops Won't Allow Water. No charges. Wheeler Hall.
Occupy High School / Colleges Universities. A Vote to Cut Grants to Low-Income Students Provokes a National Day of Action. Share The United States Student Association (USSA) called on students, union and community members today to participate in a national day of action to show legislators that there's widespread opposition to state and federal budget cuts to public education.
While proposed cuts to education have overwhelmed the nation, the organization called the day of demonstrations primarily in response to a recent vote by the House of Representatives to cut 16 percent of the total funding from the Department of Education. Part of this resolution includes a 15 percent slash to Pell Grant funding, which provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduates, by more than $800 for the neediest students. Over 9 million lower-income students currently receive the Pell Grant; those students come from families whose total annual income is around $20,000 and many of them can hardly sustain another blow without being forced to drop out of school.
March 2nd « occupy california. UC Santa Cruz SANTA CRUZ, California – Students at UC Santa Cruz held a rally today for public education during the national day of protest.
Around 250 gathered in the Quarry Plaza, where speeches were made and the issue of access to higher education for students of color was communicated. As the rally came to a close, the last speakers took the stage and chanted that we should retreat to where we feel safe, the Ethnic Resource Center (ERC), to discuss the budget cuts and how the crisis has affected students of color. As UC Santa Cruz has recently cut several of the few programs that existed where these kinds of discussions could possibly take place, and as students at the university have unsuccessfully petitioned the administration for an Ethnic Studies program for decades now, the ERC seemed an appropriately symbolic space.
Students are criticizing the administration for the lack of support for communities of color, and that the ERC itself is insufficient. Update: UC Berkeley. #march2. For the past weeks we have seen students, workers, faith and community come together and prevent attacks to the public sector across the country.
These attacks are threatening the basic structures of our society, including the right to an education and the right to full and fair employment. It is time to take action and demand a stop to the cuts! Tomorrow, students across the country will stand in solidarity in the Day to Defend Public Education and Workers! In state houses nationwide, politicians have tried balancing budgets on the backs of working students and families... and we're fighting back! Are you involved in a local action? But our fight doesn't end at state houses. . - Call (202) 224-3121 for the Senate switchboard operator and ask for one of your Senators. - Tell her or his office that you are a student constituent and urge their support for a federal budget that invests in higher education!
Pell/ TRIO/ SEOG is a vital component to my student aid. UseYourTeacherVoice.
Parents and Students Demand Nationwide Moratorium on School Closings.