Classroom to the Cell Pipeline: Decarcerate PA's "Occupy 4 Prisoners"

On Monday, February 20th POPPYN joined members of "Decarcerate PA" and Occupy Philly to rally at 1717 Arch Street against the expansion of new state prisons. The action took place in front of Heery International offices - a company being paid over $300 million to build two new state prisons in Montgomery County.

The action was in solidarity with Occupy Oakland issuing a call for "National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners."

But, wait! What's the connection between youth and prisons?

During the rally the message was that the increased funding of prisons directly correlates with the decreased funding of education.

Meaning: A devaluation and disinvestment in the future and the youth but an investment on in the prison industrial complex.

That's not POPPYN!

Here's a short video postcard from the rally, made our new POPPYN crew member, Jasmine Gibson:

To learn more about the issue, check out POPPYN's previous videos on school funding.


For more info on Decarcerate PA, visit http://decarceratePA.info/

To sign the petition in support of our demands, go to: https://www.change.org/petitions/no-more-prisons-a-call-to-decarcerate-p......

For more info on Occupy 4 Prisoners visit

http://occupy4prisoners.org/

National March and Rally for Youth Investment

In the summer of 2011, students from cities like Boston, Philly, Detroit, and NYC came together for the National March and Rally for Youth Investment. They banded together to fight for youth jobs and for education reform. These students came to the nation's capitol, Washington, D.C. to demand that the government pay attention to their future. POPPYN was there to capture all the action and figure out what motivated these students to march for their rights!

PA State Budget Cuts 2011

A 15% decrease in funding for education, but an 11% increase in funding for correctional facilities. HUH? Sadly, if Governor Corbett's proposal is passed by the state congress, this will become Pennsylvania's reality. Watch and listen as POPPYN's own Mosi explains how this will affect YOU!

Fund Our Schools Not Prisons!

"NO EDUCATION, NO WHAT? NO EDUCATION, NO LIFE!" That was just one of many chants youth from all over the city yelled as they headed down Broad st. toward The School District of Philadelphia. On March 30th, the Philadelphia Student Union, along with dozens of other organizers, rallied at 13th Filbert and Temple University, before meeting to protest and speak out against Gov. Corbett's proposal to cut funding from our area's schools by 50 percent, while raising funding for prisons by at least 11 percent. Check out what the people who came out had to say.

How has the recesion affected youth?

This Friday's Video: How has the recession affected youth?
This week's video is edited by our new superstar intern Jessica Arce!