Students In New York City Walked Out Of Class Tuesday To Demand Remote Learning

New York City students staged a citywide walkout, protesting the lack of remote learning options despite rapidly rising COVID cases.Hundreds of New York City teenagers at dozens of public high schools walked out of class on Tuesday in protest of the city requirement that students must attend school in person.“Students have to juggle this decision of whether to come to school to pursue their education or to stay home and keep themselves and their families safe,” Rommy Sasson, a junior at Brooklyn Tech and one of the five walkout organizers, told BuzzFeed News.Dora Chan, a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School, is one of the organizers of the walkout.“It’s to show that we’ve had enough,” said Dora Chan, a 17-year-old senior at Brooklyn Tech and another organizer.Teens from Brooklyn Technical High School and Stuyvesant High School, among the city’s top selective public schools, organized the walkout after they grew concerned with New York’s rising COVID numbers over winter break and were frustrated that they cannot do remote learning. “We all know that COVID could result in death, and so it’s a really, really bleak reality that all New York City students are facing today.”Students returned after winter break just last week, but the teens told BuzzFeed News that school didn’t feel normal — teachers and students were absent due to sickness or fear of getting sick, and classrooms felt empty and tense.“The atmosphere at school has been much more of defeat and worry these past few days,” Sasson said.