By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press [masterslider id=”165″]
CAYUGA—At 2 p.m. last Friday, students from across Ontario protested the current restrictions and mandates in place due to COVID-19.
Approximately 40 students participated at Cayuga Secondary School, many brandishing homemade signs and Canadian flags. They walked to the Cayuga courthouse, with passing motorists honking loudly in support.
The walkout was a peaceful event, with the students offering words of support to each other as they walked, and loud cheers erupting every time a passing car honked.
“I’m here because I feel everyone should have a choice about what they do to themselves and their body. I feel like forcing people to wear masks goes against the idea of being Canadian; it goes against our freedoms,” said student Cooper Jastel.
Jastel continued, “I got it at first, it made sense, and I feel like if you want to wear a mask, wear one. But I feel like a lot of us are ready to move on with our lives and we shouldn’t be held back by everyone else.”
Jordan Upham, another student, touched on issues she’s encountered due to her choice to remain unvaccinated.
“I’m here because I think I should have the option to do this,” she said. “I want to go to post-secondary but I can’t; I can’t even do an online post-secondary course in some places without being vaccinated and that really sucks for me.”
She continued, “I’m kind of fighting for my future here. I shouldn’t have to choose between a vaccination and working full time.”
Increasingly, young people are in the spotlight for their involvement in anti-restriction and anti-mandate movements.
This involvement includes the highly publicized line of children that linked arms as part of a crowd to block a critical border crossing on the Ambassador bridge between Windsor and Detroit, which brought several area automotive plants to a standstill.
“I’m tired of being covered up. I’m tired of our voices being shut down completely. I’m tired of our pandemic taking over everything, not being able to support mental health, trying to get our lives underway but that not being able to happen because of a sickness that really isn’t that bad,” said one student who wished to remain anonymous, noting that school has felt “more like prison” the past two years.
He continued, “It’s a personal health choice and they’re not making it a personal choice; they’re making it a mandate.”
Student Ainsley Harrison said she was upset that, due to vaccine passports, most of her family has been unable to come cheer her on at local hockey games.
She went on to say, “We all kind of want the same thing, we just want to go back to normal.”
Another student who wished to remain anonymous brought an empty gas can with him to the march.
“There’s been a lot of people bringing gas up to Ottawa and the police have been arresting them for doing it. So, a lot of other people are bringing empty gas cans so the police can’t really stop them,” he explained of the gas can.
Parent Tami Swartz, who first moved to Canada just two months ago, shared her thoughts: “No matter what your opinion is, we’re here to say we want you to be able to share your opinion, good or bad…. You can have your opinion, the other side can have their opinion, we can have free speech.”
Caledonia’s main intersection of Caithness and Argyle streets also saw a small protest the following day, on Saturday, February 12. Prostestors waving Canadian flags garnered many honks from vehicles passing by.
