More than 150 high school students walked out of class Thursday afternoon to attend an impromptu rally at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office. They are protesting the legislature’s proposed $47.5 million cut to education.
West High Junior Charlie Lowell led the crowd, sending a message to Alaska’s state legislature.
“They’ve been encouraged to even cut education further,” he shouted into his bullhorn.
“Boo!!” responded the sign-toting crowd.
“So we’re here today to let them know they can’t cut away our future! They can’t take our education away from us! Save our schools!”
Lowell helped organize the protest through word of mouth and didn’t let parents or teachers know until the last minute.
Students at the protest say their teachers had mixed reactions — many supported the idea but others were skeptical that any students would actually show up.
“I think in general teenagers get a bad rap for being rebellious and like idiots,” said West High sophomore Tessa Meeno. “And we truly do know what’s going on, and we’re not oblivious to what’s happening.”
West High tenth grader Joseph Mazeck said they need to speak up to protect what they love. “I love going to school, and I love participating in school events. You know, I play baseball for West and I don’t want to see that go away because of money.”
The legislature needs to send their final budget to the governor by the end of session on Sunday.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her at ahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Anne here.
