Students Protest Funding Cuts

When students and police clashed in a protest over funding cuts to public schools Thursday, 60 people were arrested and about 20 people were injured, including 14 officers.

Up to 10,000 people gathered in a park across from City Hall to persuade Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to shun budget cuts that demonstrators said would hobble education.

But scuffles broke out when the group, which did not have a permit to march, tried to move beyond the barricades.

Hundreds of police in riot gear stood shoulder to shoulder behind wooden and steel barricades, attempting to keep the protesters from blocking traffic. Scores more maneuvered on horses and motorcycles, forming a barrier between the students and the street.

“When it comes to money, that’s a wake-up call,” said Gustavo Catarine, who’s studying sociology at Laguardia Community College. “This plays a major role in the future for the undergraduates.”

The arrests were primarily for disorderly conduct, and the injuries were minor.

The governor and the mayor have proposed budgets that require higher tuition at city and state universities.