BOSTON – About 200 students, teachers, parents and community members unhappy with funding levels for Boston Public Schools made their presence known Wednesday at the State House and Boston City Hall, delivering a petition with more than 3,700 signatures to Gov. Charlie Baker and Mayor Marty Walsh amid loud chanting.
Led by the Boston Education Justice Alliance (BEJA), the group first focused their attention on City Hall and Mayor Walsh's education budgets. Rallying on City Hall Plaza, the group cited a letter from Boston Public Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang in which he wrote that the school system faces a $50 million shortfall, though the mayor's office said that figure is no longer accurate.
Anyone who grew up in a Christian home or a Christian school probably remembers watching that cheesy movie about Saint Valentine. It was a short, low-budget religious movie, and as kids, it was prime material for passing notes in class and making fun of bad acting. Unfortunately, "The First Valentine" didn't leave much of an impression on me, but Saint Valentine, himself, is worth further examination.
Though hagiographical accounts vary, the most reliable sources point toward a third-century AD martyr who was probably a bishop in Umbria. The story tells of a miracle when Valentine healed the blind daughter of a Roman official. Though he gained the official's favor, Valentine was still tortured for his faith and executed on Feb. 14. Interestingly, the site of his death may have taken place not far from the very site of Constantine's victorious battle at Milvian Bridge following his conversion in 312.
