Friday’s Wisconsin Solidarity School Walkouts

Students in at least twenty states staged walkouts on Friday, supporting teachers (and teachers’ unions) in Wisconsin and throughout the country. The actions garnered a lot of attention at the grass roots — my blogpost on the walkouts is already this site’s eleventh most-read of all time — but virtually none in the national media.

Local media outlets, however, have been covering the story, and though most of the walkouts didn’t get any ink, quite a few have. Here are reports from news outlets and local bloggers on some three dozen walkouts in ten states, with more to come

New Hampshire high schooler suspended for ten-minute walkout. (More here.)
Sixty walk out in Amherst, Massachusetts.
One hundred and fifty walk out and rally in Portland, Oregon.
Students from two local high schools join rally at University of Illinois.
Wisconsin students walk out in Beaver Dam, Stevens Point, Superior, Sheboygan, Eau Claire,
Six hundred walk out in York, Illinois.
High schoolers walk out in Teaneck, New Jersey.
Roving walkout attracts students from three schools in Ithaca, New York.
Two hundred walk out in Eugene, Oregon.
Wooster, Ohio high school walkout targets local anti-union law.
Hundreds walk out in Mankato, Minnesota.
Charter school students walk out in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Most Idahoans staged their walkouts Thursday — students in at least eight communities participated.
Some two hundred students walked out of a high school in Post Falls, Idaho on Friday.
Photos and writeup on a walkout at the Brooklyn Free School, New York, NY.

If you’ve got more links, share them in comments and I’ll add them to the post.

7 comments

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March 13, 2011 at 1:52 pm

M John Love

Awesome roundup, thank you!

March 13, 2011 at 5:09 pm

Linda

Years ago, back in 1971, a group of my fellow HS seniors staged a walk out in protest of the Vietnam war. They, too, were threatened with suspensions but proceeded nevertheless. Although I agreed with the walkout, and wanted badly to participate, I was too afraid of getting suspended. So instead I sat in my classroom. I’ve regretted that decision ever since. The planned HS walk-outs this week brought these memories back to me. When you feel something is wrong, you have an obligation to speak up. I am proud of these students and applaud them. (FYI, I am a non-union worker, without a pension. I’ve been driving 80 miles to Madison as often as I can to lend my voice. I am also an Independent, who will never again vote Republican as I no longer can trust them.)

March 13, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Eddie Podhorn

ACLU must sue every school district that chilled 1st Amendment expression, & 5th A Due Process. Fight autocracy every act.
I have started SALT (Sam Adams League of Teens) to win right to vote for 14-18 year olds. 14-18 teens who work pay taxes without representation.
This is to give lie to Tea Party hypocrisy, & draw their base to real democracy.
And draw a discussion about 14-18 teens ability to vote intelligently.
Also, opposes Repubs conspiracy to deny vote to college students, most of whom work part-time in college and full-time summers. They are tax payers who Repub traitors conspire to deny vote, taxation with representation.

March 14, 2011 at 9:51 am

Jon Berger