With a FB message, 1000's of students in NJ walked out to protest the reduction in aid to schools

[Are_grits_groceries]

In New Jersey, a Civics Lesson in the Internet Age

In Newark, students took their protest to City Hall, but the real target of their message was Gov. Christopher J. Christie, who has cut state aid to schools.

It was a silent call to arms: an easy-to-overlook message urging New Jersey students to take a stand against the budget cuts that threaten class sizes and choices as well as after-school activities. But some 18,000 students accepted the invitation posted last month on Facebook, the social media site better known for publicizing parties and sporting events. And on Tuesday many of them — and many others — walked out of class in one of the largest grass-roots demonstrations to hit New Jersey in years.

The protest disrupted classroom routines and standardized testing in some of the state’s biggest and best-known school districts, offering a real-life civics lesson that unfolded on lawns, sidewalks, parking lots and football fields.

The mass walkouts were inspired by Michelle Ryan Lauto, an 18-year-old aspiring actress and a college freshman, and came a week after voters rejected 58 percent of school district budgets put to a vote across the state (not all districts have a direct budget vote).

Much more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/nyregion/28jersey.html?hp

Where's the coverage of this??? Good on them!!

[Dappleganger]

1. Good for them, their parents should be PROUD!

I stand with them in this.

[bunny planet]

2. I am proud

My son was one of those in NJ that walked out.
:-)

[Dappleganger]

3. Awesome! Tell him he did GREAT!