BAY AREA STUDENTS CUT CLASS, PROTEST SPENDING ON PRISONS

2,000 march, urge lawmakers to give priority to education

SAN LEANDRO -- About 2,000 students from throughout the Bay Area cut classes
to march and rally Thursday, protesting that the state spends more to lock
up young people than to educate them.

Teens from Fremont, Hayward, San Leandro, Oakland, San Francisco and Daly
City, among others, took part in the march. The protesters gathered at a San
Leandro BART station, started marching about 10 a.m. and then walked to the
Alameda County juvenile hall before circling back.

Police rerouted traffic in places. Some scuffles and other incidents were
reported, such as the hurling of plastic bottles and rocks at police, but no
arrests were made.

The young organizers of the walkouts -- members of an Oakland-based youth
group called OLIN, named after the Mexican Indian word for ``movement'' --
claimed victory in getting their message across.

They said the government spends up to $60,000 a year to incarcerate someone
and $8,000 to educate a student, and that the state has built 19 prisons and
only one university in the past decade.

``That's the reason we do the walkouts. They're not listening to our
petitions, our voices,'' said Patricia Sanchez, 20, of San Francisco, a
march organizer.

``The issue is education, not incarceration,'' said Cindy Wiesner, another
protest organizer and Oakland high school student. ``This is a protest
demonstrating the student priorities of the state.''

But California is spending $35 billion on kindergarten through 12th-grade
education and $4.4 billion on the juvenile and adult correction system, said
Sean Walsh, spokesman for Gov. Pete Wilson.

``Kids who can't get into Berkeley aren't enrolling into San Quentin,''
Walsh said. ``The government has an obligation to educate its citizenry and
protect the public. We can't choose one or the other.''

In San Leandro, workers and residents stepped outside momentarily to watch
the three-hour protest, which was led by students with megaphones. While the
march was mostly peaceful, many were startled when a fire extinguisher was
taken from the group's supply truck and its contents sprayed into the air as
the march ended at the Bay Fair BART station.

Valley Times Staff Writer Michael Pena and Mercury News wire services
contributed to this report.

1997 - 1998 Mercury Center.

Checked-by: Don Beck