Get Back in School

Something tells us these kids aren't smart enough to protest anything:

• The idea for the protest started with a group of five high school friends at lunch discussing the financial woes of the Chicago Public Schools. The budget cuts seemed endless, they agreed. Bigger class sizes. No more after-school programs.

  "We thought we should do something about it," said organizer David Rojas, a 19-year-old senior at Social Justice High School. "This is a way to empower everybody."

19-year old senior? Must be on the 5-year plan.

• CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond said the district has done everything in its power to avoid cutting core programs but that this year's budget didn't allow many choices.

  "While we don't condone students missing a single day of school, we do applaud their efforts in paying attention to the issues that impact their future," she said.

Thanks Monique - how's that pay raise for you and Hubie working out? Did we tell t he students about that one? Almost a dozen e-mailers tell us they spend part of their shift keeping an eye on this walkout and another part of their shift chasing the truants who had no intention of ever appearing downtown, but used this as a ruse to go and start causing problems in half of the police districts.

It's getting to the point where someone is going to have to chain the doors, fence the windows and hire someone to put these kids' noses in books to make them learn.