DANIEL CAUDLE

News Record

Students from both high schools in Clinton joined thousands of others last Thursday in participating in a staged walk-out to protest the Ontario government’s education reforms.

Students were protesting changes they say are unfair and will ultimately hurt future generations.

Among the local organizers was Jack Campbell, the student president at Central Huron Secondary School.

“I talked to some friends to hand out flyers to people knew what this protest is about,” said Campbell. “I helped organize the school’s Instagram page and talked to people to get the banners made up.”

Over 150 students from both St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School and Central Huron came together for the demonstration.

At 1:15 p.m. the students from both high schools walked out of class converging at the South East side on the Ontario Street and Albert Street intersection.

“This whole protest is about the future problems that will arise from the cuts to education and the drop in learning that will follow,” said Grade 9 student Noah Middleton.

Among the list of changes that worry the students are larger classroom numbers for Grades 4 to 12, mandatory online courses for high school students, the banning of cellphones in class unless the devices are used for instructional purposes, various cuts to education funding for supplies such as textbooks, and changes to OSAP funding and OSAP interest-free grace periods.

“It is important for us to be out here and using our right to protest because if we as students let this go by without saying anything, then it opens the door for more cuts to education,” said Campbell.

Three days before the walkout was to occur, the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board issued a letter to parents of students.

Written by Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board education director Vince MacDonald, the letter stated that the Huron-Perth Catholic School Board values the voices of students and a vision of the learner that includes leading as a responsible citizen, reflective thinker and discerning believer.

The letter went on to say that those students who participated in the walkout would receive an absent marking on their attendance per their policy.

During the protest, OPP officers were patrolling the route the students marched with the objective of keeping the students safe.

The walkout was not sanctioned by the school boards, but students cited their right to freedom of peaceful assembly, as enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

MPP Lisa Thompson, who is also Ontario’s education minister, said the protests were the product of the teachers’ union, but the students said the unions provided them no direction.

“The school board could not officially have a position on what we were doing, and we took matters into our own hands,” said Campbell. “The teachers could not encourage us or aid us in out walk-out.”

Thompson said the government’s changes have been well received.