CPS Students Protest 'The Death Of Public Education'
By aaroncynic in News on Nov 4, 2013 9:30PM
A small group of Chicago Public Schools students marched from the Board of Education to City Hall on Friday to protest what they say is the “death of public education.”
Dressed as zombies, members of the Chicago Student Union criticized Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS administration for last spring’s school closings, budget cuts and demanded TIF funds be reallocated to struggling public schools.
Lincoln Park High School Nidalis Burgos said in a statement:
“Chicago Public Schools has not been supporting the students of Chicago lately. Instead of gaining an education these students are risking their lives on dangerous walks to new, more distant schools. The children who attend these CPS schools have been left to choose between their education and their own safety.”
Outside the Board of Education headquarters Whitney Young High School student Avelardo Rivera told reporters that despite now having a student representative on the Board of Education, student voices often go unheard. “They said they understood that the students are the ones affected the most. In reality, they really don’t," Rivera said of the cuts and closings. "They don’t know what the actual situation in schools are. They have to start listening to multiple perspectives.”