The Train has Left the Station

It has left, indeed.

I was going to write this post last week, but I run out of time. It makes more sense to do it now anyway. Yesterday, I went to the Student Metrocard protest, and I have to say that I was really proud of what I saw. Sometimes people accuse children of being lazy and not caring about important things. This protest proved that wrong as you can see: 

Out in full force.

In case you don’t know what is going on here in New York City, the MTA plans to cut student Metrocards out of their budget. The card allows students to get to school for free. This cut is very troubling. Why? Well, there are a lot of students who can’t get the money together to get to school everyday. I’m sure you are saying “well, they can get a job.” Honestly, it is very difficult for a high school aged kid to get it job, let alone a person with a college education. A lot of the students in the public school system are poor. Their parents either have a minimum wage job (or two) and/or are on public assistance. Their families are just getting by. The parents can’t afford $890-$1500 per child for traveling expenses. This cut would force families to choose between food/rent and their children’s education.

Getting rid of these cards force students to get a horrible education in a system that is already horrible. Why make it harder for poor students to succeed? Why force them to go to schools where the students and teachers don’t even want to be at? How can one shine in a place like that? I can tell you from my experience how much that card made a difference. Without it, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to get a college degree from a private four-year school. That card helped me discover programs like Pace University’s Upward Bound program where I learned about college and was inspired to be the best I could be. I would’ve been nothing without it.

What does getting rid of the cards solve? It will just bring people back in a system where they are already at a disadvantage. We need to come together as a united front to stop this from happening. I urge all of you in New York City to e-mail the MTA, the Governor, your Assembly member, your State Senator, the Mayor, and your City Council member. Fill out petitions as well.

I thank everyone who has gotten involved. I also thank the media station WPIX who have been on top of this and are supporting the students. Check out their coverage here. Let’s stop this from happening!