(c) 2011 NCSU Student Media
Israel Cisernas drums on a ten gallon paint bucket on Hillsborough street Tuesday, May 3, 2011 with student protesters from across the state to oppose budget cuts in education. The rally marched from the Bell Tower to the legislative building downtown where they joined a rally of thousands. Photo by Tim O'Brien
More than 100 students from all over North Carolina met at the Bell Tower Tuesday afternoon to march downtown to the state legislature, where they joined thousands for the One Voice Rally for Public Education.
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For more photos from the budget cut rally, view our online slideshow.
Downtown, the crowd of over 4,000 students, teachers and principals from as far away as Boone and Ocracoke, rallied with the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) against cuts being made to education, public jobs and services. Protestors also called for maintaining the one percent sales tax and surcharge on people making over $150,000 a year, and keeping the corporate tax rate at just below seven percent.
Ana Maria Reichenbach, junior at UNC Chapel-Hill and organizer with the NCAE coalition, helped lead students downtown to the main rally. Reichenbach said she was excited to see so many people show up to what she said is the biggest rally she’s ever seen.
“It’s great to show legislators these budget cuts are affecting more and more people around the state,” Reichenbach said. “The cuts are affecting everyone.”
Bryan Perlmutter, sophomore in business administration at N.C. State, said he has been working with a number of organizations from across the state, including the North Carolina Defend Education Coalition, an organization made up of high school and college students from all over North Carolina.
“We recognize that now is the time we must take a united stand to stop these cuts to education and all public services,” Perlmutter said. “The reality is there is plenty of money to fully fund all of these things if the legislature taxed the rich and corporations, and we have to put pressure on them to do that.”
Perlmutter also spoke out against the proposed $80 million in cuts to the University, which includes the loss of around 30 undergraduate courses and the merging of colleges such as the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
“The legislature has been telling the people it is a budget problem when in reality it is not,” Perlmutter said. “The state wants to balance the budget on students and workers while continuing tax breaks for corporations and millionaires. We are opposed to these cuts.”
With the sounds of drums and chanting in the air, protestors carried signs that read “Good Education = Good Jobs” and “Don’t Cut My Future.” NCAE leaders, William Barber, North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President, Governor Bev Perdue and others spoke at rally to fire up the education activists.
“I’m here for the 1.4 million students who need and deserve a quality education,” said Sheri Strickland, NCAE President.
Barber spoke of his personal experiences and passion for educational equality.
“We must come together to help those who work for too little and for long hours to help our children grow,” said Barber. “These cuts are direct assault on our children’s future.”
While the sea of red and white-shirted protestors repeatedly chanted, “No more cuts,” the North Carolina General Assembly was in session debating the budget.
Reichenbach traveled to Wisconsin at the end of February, where she saw the unity of workers and students in action to defend the public sector, and said she hopes to bring the same fighting spirit to North Carolina.
“This is an incredibly important day of action against the budget cuts in North Carolina,” Reichenbach said. “Now is the time that students and young people, workers and everyone from the community needs to stand together to fight back against these cuts they are proposing, or it is only going to get worse.”