THE STRIKE: Teachers and students across Spain walked out Tuesday. Union officials said 80 percent of teachers took part in the strike, while the national education ministry put the figure at 19 percent.

THE GRIPE: Austerity measures being taken to heal Spain's public finances have meant fewer teachers in classrooms, more students per class, fewer extra-curricular activities and higher tuition at universities.

THE DRAMA: In protest, students and teachers build makeshift tombs at university campuses to symbolize what they claim will be the death of the country's education system. Andreu Vela, a 21-year-old journalism student at Madrid's Complutense University, dressed up as the Grim Reaper.