On May 17, 2013, the Philadelphia Student Union organized a student walkout, #Walkout215, which was covered extensively in national news outlets. Reports stated that "thousands of students... from at least 27 schools" in the district walked out of class to protest a proposed austerity budget. A video of PSU members speaking at #Walkout215 was promoted on the front page of Upworthy. PSU member and Benjamin Franklin High School (Philadelphia) student Sharron Snyder appeared on MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry and Marc Lamont Hill's HuffPost Live in the weeks following the walkout. The Philadelphia Student Union was also featured on Melissa Harris-Perry in October 2013, when PSU member and Masterman High School student Nuwar Ahmed was interviewed on how "students raise their voices and take the lead, using activism to activate for education reform."
