Taylor Broom clung to a printed speech while walking up Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles Thursday, as she marched with a moving crowd of frustrated students, parents and teachers in a rally for public education.
At the end of the march, Broom mounted a truck and read that speech to the massive crowd of protestors.
The 16-year-old Dorsey High School student spoke for her classmates who continue to see fewer textbooks and crowded classrooms.
“In my history class, there are 41 students in there. It’s affecting everyone’s learning,” said Brown during her speech.
Dorsey High School also lacks textbooks for students.
Brown said not every class has a set of books for class and for home. Students don’t lug their heavy books from home because they don’t have enough lockers to store them. They are then reprimanded for not having their books.
“I want students to have access to the best education. If we have a good education, students can’t make excuses for failing,” said Brown.
She said too many classmates are bored with school and use that as an excuse not to graduate.
Brown also talked about budget cuts last year that led to the layoffs of three counselors. Her fellow classmates mentioned long lines when trying to register for classes.
“We know [the cuts] are real and it’s happening and that we have to fight more,” said Brown.
Brown represented her school’s student group Coalition for Educational Justice.
When a teacher saw Brown in debate class, the teacher insisted she join the coalition because she “had the perfect voice for change.” She has been attending the coalition’s lunchtime meetings since November.
In the future, Brown wants to become a registered nurse.
“College was already expensive to me at first, but now it’s even more [so],” said Brown.
When Rene Casanova first started classes at South Chaffey Community College in Rancho Cucamonga, he had no trouble getting into the courses he needed to graduate.
