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For months, students have been fighting back against the MTA’s budget cuts that would phase out the free Metrocards that allow them to get to school and back.

Khaair Morrison, a Queens high school student, explains in the community section what such a change would mean for him and his peers. Morrison writes:

I wouldn’t even attend the great school I go to, Francis Lewis High School in Queens, if I hadn’t known I would be able to get there for free. But my mom knew I couldn’t go to the schools in my neighborhood. Now those schools are among 19 that the mayor and chancellor are closing. Next year, if I don’t get a free Metrocard, it would be hard for me to stay enrolled at Francis Lewis for my senior year. And all the students who might have gone to the schools that are closing will have to spend their own money to get to schools like mine, which are already overcrowded.

Here at The Open Planning Project, which has helped incubate GothamSchools, the team at Livable Streets Education has a guide for how to fight back against the possible cuts. And a citywide student group is planning to collect messages for legislators on their expired cards.

Are you a student with something to say? Email us to contribute to the community section.