The Fightback, out of Washington D.C. reported March 14th, 2012 that Northwestern High School Principal Edgar Batenga gave five-day suspension to four students, and possibly shorter suspensions to others, for their alleged role in organizing an attempted walkout on March 1, which was billed as a National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.
In a flier entitled “The Students Are Angry!”, the high school students listed some of the concerns which led to their walkout: they concerns were unsanitary conditions and food; large class sizes, commonly with 40-plus students; poor teacher pay and treatment, especially regarding the deportation of Filipino teachers; underfunded programs such as band and ESOL; and an overall environment where “students have pretty much no say in educational
