Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« What's Up with that Bike Covered in… | TOMORROW! It's a Very Beary Holiday… »

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Occupy / Olympia Garfield High School Students to Walk Out Over Proposed Cuts to Education

Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 6:00 AM

And in advance of today's walkout, they've issued a manifesto:

We are Garfield High School students, speaking on behalf of and with Seattle Public Schools students tired of the constant cuts to our education. We are the people who have been affected most by these cuts, and we are showing that we care. For too long, this state's budget has been balanced on the backs of its students. Apparently, our representatives in Olympia have forgotten that the Washington Constitution says that funding education is this state's "paramount duty". This is a student voice reminding our legislature of that fact. And also of this one: We are this country's future. We will vote. And we will hold them accountable.

We will walk out of Garfield High School on Wednesday the 30th of November at 12:30 PM to march to City Hall and tell the world that we are fed up with this lack of funding for education. Although we acknowledge the irony of missing a free education in order to protest, we realize that sometimes unorthodox methods must be utilized in order to gain attention. To all Garfield students and students from any other Seattle schools, public and private, we hope you will join us tomorrow as we stand up against a constant barrage of cuts and mistreatment, and converge upon City Hall to make our voices heard.

We have two primary goals we hope to accomplish:

-We want to stop the constant cuts to education that have hurt our school and other schools in the state.

-We want to insert a student voice into the political discourse in issues regarding education.

Following are our grievances, things that have already happened as a result of past cuts:

-Students who want full schedules have been denied them due to a lack of teachers. Many seniors were denied a science class due to a complete lack of state science funding.

-Other academic courses, such as advanced math classes, have been repeatedly cut from our school.

-The removal of summer school and night school has removed resources that allowed many students to graduate on time, therefore effectively increasing the amount the state must spend on those students.

The King County Superior Court ruled that Washington State is already failing to fulfill its constitutional obligations to fully fund public education. As Will Rogers said: "when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."

Cuts to the State's education budget haven't helped in the past, and they can only hurt for the future.

FacebookShare

Comments (26) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Meanwhile, kids in Brazil, Korea, and India will be studying mathematics.

Posted by We're good at band and football. on November 30, 2011 at 6:18 AM

Bravo to the students! Make your voices heard!

Posted by YakHerder on November 30, 2011 at 6:30 AM

Good on 'em!!

Posted by bobbelieu on November 30, 2011 at 6:39 AM

The troll is right. Even a second spent away from studying mathematics makes the end of the republic even more inevitable. Standing up for your rights is both French AND gay.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay

on November 30, 2011 at 6:50 AM

Well, I don't know about the rest of their educational system, but whoever came up with the release at least knows how to write well. Nicely done.

Posted by NateMan on November 30, 2011 at 6:52 AM

wait, but most students can't vote - and their education isn't 'free', either...

Posted by badmaths on November 30, 2011 at 7:01 AM

@5 Perhaps they should have thrown in some bad grammar and misspelling to really make their point.

Posted by Allyn on November 30, 2011 at 7:02 AM

@6: They can't vote right now, but they'll be able to soon. And with luck, they'll remember this when it's time for them to do so.

Posted by NateMan on November 30, 2011 at 7:05 AM

Funding education is good for the economy. Business may like tax breaks, but they NEED an educated workforce. If they cannot find one in Washington, they will move elsewhere.

Continued cuts to education spending is nothing more than slow suicide.

Posted by TechBear on November 30, 2011 at 7:11 AM

@6 its not free, but the state and national constitution trumps petty things like Eymans tax bills and conservative hysterics. The law is full education, public, free to families, and secular.

Posted by Joe Szilagyi

on November 30, 2011 at 7:14 AM

We are very proud to see our students making their voices heard. It IS the PARAMOUNT DUTY of this state to fund education.

Posted by go bulldogs on November 30, 2011 at 8:02 AM

If Jesse Hagopian is using his paid teaching position as a platform for political ideology - to organize and encourage students to walkout on the educational resources we're providing – he should be fired.

Posted by Zok on November 30, 2011 at 8:23 AM

A group of Garfield seniors decided to launch the walk out in protest of the state budget cuts. Over 250 students committed to join the action within hours of the announcement.

Mr. Hagopian has no involvement with this action. However, it should be noted that Hagopian is a citizen and has every right to voice his own opinion in the public sphere.

Posted by go bulldogs on November 30, 2011 at 8:50 AM

Teachers that encourage immature students to actions based on their (the teachers) political ideology SHOULD be fired.

Posted by sonder on November 30, 2011 at 9:00 AM

@5: I love the Will Rogers quote. As a Bulldog myself, I feel proud!

Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on November 30, 2011 at 9:00 AM

@14

Teachers that encourage immature students to actions based on their (the teachers) political ideology SHOULD be fired.

So you're in favor of firing teachers that push creationism, which has no basis in established and accepted science, violates the Constitutional barrier of church and state in the schools, and encourages children toward the political and religious ideology of their teachers?

Posted by Joe Szilagyi

on November 30, 2011 at 9:46 AM

@12 and @14:
This is not connected to Mr. Hagopian. Garfield High School has a long activist tradition, and we are continuing this tradition today. We are marching for education, we are marching for our future, and we are marching to break the long silence of students in this state.

Posted by Garfield Student on November 30, 2011 at 10:02 AM

I have a really strange idea, but i like it. Instead on LEAVING school, why not STAY. Stay an extra hour longer. I think that would get more attention. The administration would have to say as well, that might get them thinking, it would certainly get parents talking.

Posted by corky on November 30, 2011 at 10:14 AM

@17- Right on! I hope other students in the district follow Garfield's example. P.S. Please send my regards to the author of this press release, it was very well written.

Posted by amyl on November 30, 2011 at 10:35 AM

well it only works if they all march down to city hall and dont splinter off like i suspect will happen.

Posted by goldrapeshisdaughter on November 30, 2011 at 10:41 AM

Fucking awesome. Go Garfield. I hope they succeed in getting a huge turnout. Gutting public education is a travesty.

Posted by Reverse Polarity on November 30, 2011 at 12:50 PM

Right on, Garfield students! It was exactly twelve years ago today -- November 30, 1999 -- when hundreds of my classmates and I walked out of Garfield and marched downtown to join the protests against the WTO. Carry it on, sisters and brothers!
- Garfield alumna, class of 2001

Posted by Portlander on November 30, 2011 at 1:05 PM

Cool.

Posted by no_reply on November 30, 2011 at 2:12 PM

@14 We aren't immature students, and the walkout wasn't based on our teachers ideology. We are tired of budget cuts effecting our education and the future generations education as well. Not only will these cuts directly effect us but the overall economy like @9 said. Mr. Hagopian has the right to his own opinion and in no way did he organize this, us students did it on our own. Our voices are just as important as anyone's, especially when it concerns our education our future and our lives. We deserve to be heard.

Posted by GHS bulldogs on November 30, 2011 at 3:44 PM

Go Bulldogs!

Posted by noamg on November 30, 2011 at 5:33 PM

Great job, Bulldogs! What an awesome march! You all were orderly, organized, and amazingly well spoken and on task. GREAT JOB!

Posted by GHS Bulldog Mom on December 2, 2011 at 9:56 PM