Lincoln Annex School Marches Against Selling School And Sending Students To A Warehouse

By Natalie Francisco

The city of New Brunswick, RWJ, The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and Devco plan to purchase Lincoln Annex Elementary school to tear it down and build a $750 million expansion of the hospital as a 12-story cancer pavilion. The students, parents, and community refuse to let this happen. On February 18th they marched to the Rutgers University Board of Governors Meeting. A decision has still not been announced.

“The fact that they’re putting cancer against kids is disappointing because both are important. They shouldn’t make the students feel like it’s their fault that they don’t build the center, that cancer is more important than us and our education.” Amairani Juarez, Lincoln Annex 6th Grade

“Rutgers and the administration talk a lot about bridging this gap between the student and New Brunswick and yet here we are having to defend a school that serves so many children in New Brunswick. It brings hypocrisy to light and we’re not going to let it happen.” Rutgers Student

“These are fragile families. You don’t want to make the kids walk 2 miles to school and 2 miles back and spend that day in a windowless under heated and under cooled building that’s too small for the number of students anyway. Not to mention the issues of toxins and contaminants.” David Huges, Rutgers Professor of Anthropology, Treasurer/Chief Negotiator of Rutgers AAUP-AFT Faculty & Grad Union

“When we went to meetings they [Board of Educations] would deny it [selling the school]. Two weeks ago I went to the school and they again denied it, saying it was rumors until I saw it on their website.” Maria Juarez, Lincoln Annex Parent

“We have had family members that have died of cancer. We are not putting cancer patients down. RWJ and the Cancer Institute are putting our children down.” Cosecha Acaditi, Lincoln Annex Parent

“This is the type of thing that rich white institutions do to poor communities of color. We are not going to accept this from Rutgers, from New Brunswick, from Robert Wood Johnson, from anybody.” David Huges, Rutgers Professor of Anthropology, Treasurer/Chief Negotiator of Rutgers AAUP-AFT Faculty & Grad Union

“This fight is not against the cancer institute or the hospital. We simply ask that they not tear down this school. Why must they displace our children, send them 2 miles away, force them to walk through a dangerous industrial area?” Cosecha Acaditi, Lincoln Annex Parent

“I’m really upset at Mayor Cahill, who says education is important. If so, why is New Brunswick still a failing district? If he really cared about education he would have noticed how long this district has been failing.” Maria Juarez, Lincoln Annex Parent

“Rutgers is an educational institution and lightly it’s been acting like a healthcare capitalist corporation. Its primary responsibility is to educate the people of New Jersey and all of these kids in New Brunswick are potential Rutgers Students. If Rutgers didn’t charge way too much for tuition they would be Rutgers students.” David Huges, Rutgers Professor of Anthropology, Treasurer/Chief Negotiator of Rutgers AAUP-AFT Faculty & Grad Union

“We ask parents to fight for our dignity, for our children’s dignity. Today it’s Lincoln Annex but in the future what other schools will they try to tear down?” Maria Chiquito, Lincoln Annex Parent

If sold Lincoln Annex would be rebuilt at 131 Jersey Ave, a commercial road surrounded by industrial buildings. The land is in front of a graveyard, near a dirty river, and contaminated by toxins. There are very few street lights along the 2 miles that the children will walk to their new school.