Students March on Brooklyn Bridge to Protest Education Cuts, Corporate Takeovers

To protest school budget cutbacks, college tuition increases and the corporate takeover of public schools, thousands of New York City students gathered in Manhattan Thursday and marched over the Brooklyn Bridge to Fort Greene Park. Marchers included students from CUNY, the Student Assembly, Occupy Student Debt Campaign, SUNY, NYU and more.

The front line (above) carried cardboard cutouts of the faces of Mayor Bloomberg, ex-Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz (head of the controversial Success Academy charter school chain), Schools Chancellor Walcott and others who, the students say, are selling them out.

The marchers said they were inspired by the Occupy movement to take action.

Some of the students planned to visit the Panel for Educational Policy meeting Thursday night at Brooklyn Tech. The panel is planning to close more public high schools. (Mayor Bloomberg has closed more than 117 schools so far, mostly in low-income neighborhoods.)

The police prepared to capture marchers in their orange nets if they attempted to take the Adams Street walkway from the bridge instead of the Washington Street stairs.

Photo by MK Metz

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