Campaigns
2009-2010
Save Student MetroCards
For more than half a century, the city & state of New York, along with the MTA have provided free MetroCards to students who needed them to travel to and from school. In September 2009, the MTA announced that they would be eliminating the program by 2011 due to a budget defecit of almost $800 million. This means families would have to pay almost $1000 per child in order to send them to school. Understanding that working-class families would not be able to afford to send their kids to school, the UYC took on a campaign to save Student MetroCards in December of 2009.
Since then, the UYC has held numerous press conferences and rallies outside the offices of the MTA, met with city officials from the Mayor’s office, City Council Members, and state legislators, held a meeting with the Chairman of the MTA which led to the halting of a vote on the MetroCards, and organized a student-led walk-out of 23 high schools in NYC which culminated in a 1000 student rally and march over the Brooklyn Bridge. The students continue organizing and fighting to ensure that their Student MetroCards are not cut!