A walkout at Garth Webb Secondary School yesterday afternoon drew a large crowd of students who marched in support of a ceasefire in Palestine, while spreading awareness of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Students organized a walkout at 2 p.m. yesterday, Tuesday March 5, at Garth Webb Secondary School, which saw at least 100 students leave class in a peaceful protest.
The event was organized by two students: Serena, a former graduate of Garth Webb, and current Grade 12 student Ayesha.
"Age really isn't such a deeming factor when it comes to movements and activism," said Serena. "The young generation really is going to be the forefront of this movement, they're showing the world that the narrative's changed."
Serena says that the transition period for high school students, who will soon be entering their lives, is an important time to understand global conflicts and the implications that they have on communities around the world.
Ayesha echoed this saying, "It effects a lot of us who go to this school, we're just seeing what's happening on the news and it's important that we take a stand because one day this could be in our textbooks that end up at this school."
The two girls promoted the event through social media and word of mouth, word quickly spread and drew a massive crowd, some of whom were from schools outside of Garth Webb. Both say they were happy with the support from their fellow students.
The rally began at Westoak Trails Park, where Serena and Ayesha gave speeches discussing the death in Gaza and how important they feel it is for students to speak up.
They then started chants shouting "Free free!" to which the crowd shouted back, "Palestine!" They followed-up with "From the river to the sea!" to which the crowd shouted back, "Palestine will be free!"
"It's important that we raise our voices and give people the confidence to come out and speak up about such a crazy situation," Ayesha said.
After the brief rally, the crowd set off on a march which followed a route along Westoak Trails Boulevard and south on Third Line to a field by the intersection of Third Line and Upper Middle.
A Halton Police cruiser escorted the crowd and had officers stationed nearby to ensure the matter remained civil.
The crowd stood on the field waving flags and holding up signs as cars passed by, many honking their horns.
This walkout comes the same day that a collective of Palestinian Canadians filed a lawsuit against the federal government, urging to halt arms exports to Israel.
While Oakville has seen at least three public adult protests, this is the first event that was organized by (and mainly attended by) local youth.