"Seattle students walk out to protest education cuts" (with video)

Linda Brill (KING5 News) with video (02:23):

Hundreds of Seattle high-schoolers walked out of class today to protest education budget cuts. Seattle teenagers joined students at the University of Washington to send a message to Olympia.

The student protest was about 300 to 400 kids strong and for most of them it wasn't just a chance to cut school, it was a chance to protest serious budget problems.

It was the "all city" student walk out against budget cuts. High-schoolers from Seattle High Schools' Garfield, Ballard, Roosevelt and Nathan Hale walked out of school with a simple message: Fund us.

"You cut school...we cut class," said one student. MORE...

Seattle: "High school students plan Wednesday walkout"

Photo of November 30 walkout by jseattle

Tom Fucoloro (Central District News):

High school students all around Seattle are planning a walkout Wednesday with several schools (including Garfield) destined for a rally at the University of Washington. Garfield students will leave class at 12:30 and walk down 23rd Ave to the UW via the Montlake Bridge. There, they will join with students from the UW and other high schools (see the Facebook event). MORE...

"Washington State Democrats Hope Voters Have New Attitude on Taxes"

"Students protested education cuts at Seattle City Hall on Wednesday. The governor wants to “buy back” many of the reductions."

William Yardley (NY Times):

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A strange sound rang out from the Senate Democratic caucus meeting at the State Capitol here this week.

“We broke into applause,” said Senator Derek Kilmer of Gig Harbor. “There hasn’t been a lot of applause in caucus in the last few years.”

There may not be much more anytime soon. The applause was for the news that Boeing and union machinists, long at odds, had reached a sweeping agreement to mend their differences and build the new 737 Max airplane here in the Puget Sound region. The deal would mean thousands of jobs for years to come, yet it was no antidote for the pressing problem the caucus had to address. It would not balance the budget.

After cutting $10 billion over the past three years, including trimming higher education spending by half, slicing health care programs and streamlining state agencies, lawmakers and the 6.7 million residents of Washington State have been rewarded for their sacrifices with more bad news: The state has another enormous budget deficit.

“I can’t take it anymore,” said Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat. “I sure hope that’s where the people of the State of Washington are.”

So now, facing a budget gap of nearly $2 billion and more bleak revenue forecasts, Ms. Gregoire and some Democratic leaders say they will seek the same solution they have in the past: To raise taxes.

The question is whether, this time, voters will actually let them. MORE...

Keith Olbermann: "Truthout Author Jesse Hagopian on High School Student Walkout in Seattle" (with video)

truthout with video (02:58) from CURRENT:

Keith Olbermann talks with Jesse Hagopian, a Garfield High history teacher and Truthout author, about his arrested while protesting school budget cuts in Washington on Monday. They discuss today’s student walkout in Seattle and the viability of affecting legislation through coordinated occupation efforts. Hagopian, whose students started a Facebook campaign for him after his arrest, points to worldwide protests as influential groundwork for U.S. occupations: “To see students taking their own initiatives to fight for their own futures was really inspiring.”

"Garfield High students walk out to protest education cuts" (slideshow)

Students chant in front of Seattle City Hall during a walk-out by hundreds of Garfield High School students on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. Some students and parents at the rally said about one-third of the student body walked out to protest proposed education cuts now being considered during a special legislative session in Olympia. Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO / SEATTLEPI.COM

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

SEATTLEPI.COM (slideshow).

Howie P.S.: The other Seattle daily also covered this.

Garfield Students: "Fund Our Future"

Garfield students hang banner overlooking rally at City Hall.Goldy | The Stranger

David Goldstein (SLOG):

Organizers of today's march and rally of Garfield High School students couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. Several hundred students walked out of school around 12:30 pm to protest continued cuts in education funding, and marched to a rally in the city hall plaza. It was a large, enthusiastic, and diverse crowd—"The most diverse Garfield event I've ever been to," one student told me—and well behaved almost to a fault. Every time a student strayed into the street, others would call for them to stay on sidewalk, and bike cops had to repeatedly yell at students to continue crossing against the crosswalk light. It made for slow going.

Students, parents, teachers, and administrators should be proud. MORE...

(Updated) Seattle: "Garfield students march" (video)

UPDATE: Goldy has now posted "The students united will never be defeated," video (00:34): "Garfield High students rally at Seattle City Hall."
Howie P.S.: Today I am the proud parent of a recent Garfield graduate.


Tube3HA, video (00:47):

Protesting education cuts hundreds of Garfield high students march to Seattle City Hall.