Students from Milwaukee Public Schools and the Racine Unified School District hold signs and chant Thursday at a rally at Hamilton High School, where they presented their Student Bill of Rights to a Milwaukee School Board committee. Credit: Gary Porter

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The gathering in Hamilton High School's auditorium Thursday had the familiar markings of a protest: group chants, handmade signs, a series of speakers who aimed to inspire.

The difference was the audience and most of the organizers: youths. The rally was designed by students, for students, to publicize a new Student Bill of Rights that the flock of teenagers from Milwaukee and Racine high schools subsequently presented Thursday night to a Milwaukee School Board committee.

According to members of Youth Empowered in the Struggle, a student organizing group with a growing number of clubs in Milwaukee and Racine schools, the bill was created in response to youths' concerns about how the recent statewide budget cuts are chipping away at the quality of education, especially in lower-income schools. The YES chapters are sponsored by Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant and worker rights group.

The bill was drafted with the input from more than 1,000 area students, according to YES, and it includes expectations for appropriate class sizes and resources. It has sections outlining ideal scenarios for students, organized into categories such as "student power and voice," "security and discipline" and "life after school."

Mayra Alaniz, a poised 16-year-old junior from South Division High School, joined the YES chapter this year and said it's been difficult to convince her peers that their voice mattered in a world of education procedure and policy that's governed mostly by adults.

Alaniz said she's seen some of her own classes swell this year to 30 or 40 students, when last year they had between 20 and 25 students.

"We're really hoping they (the School Board) will listen to our concerns, because it's about us, really," Alaniz said in an interview before she took the stage.

Standing before about 150 of her peers, Alaniz said she was a good student but couldn't concentrate in the current learning environment, where she has to do much of her work independently because teachers are overwhelmed with large classes and problem students.

She said that she was the daughter of immigrant parents and that students shouldn't miss out on getting a good education because of their socioeconomic status.

She ended her short speech with a raised fist, and a chant that the audience joined:

"Whose schools? Our schools!"