We The Students Do Not Consent! Interview with Toronto high school students Amina, Ben & Thea

This is a No Borders Media audio dispatch. This past Friday, September 21, 2018, tens of thousands of high school students in Ontario, from close to 100 schools, walked out of their classes in protest against regressive changes to sexual education as well as other curriculum changes proposed and implemented by the right-wing Doug Ford Conservative government. The walkout was called: We The Students Do Not Consent, and was inspired, partially, by high school organizing in the USA. For an insider view, No Borders Media speaks with three Toronto-area high school students who helped to organize and participated in the walkout: Thea Baines, 17, Benjamin Doll, 19, and Amina Vance,17. Together, Thea, Benjamin and Amina provide background to the origins of the walkout, standing together for all students including queer and trans youth, the behind-the-scenes organizing and coordination between students from close to 100 schools, and how it felt to successfully organize a walkout that mobilized thousands. They also reflect on organizing challenges and look ahead to the alliances and strategies necessary to defeat the socially and economically right-wing agenda of the Ford government. This interview was recorded on September 23, 2018, by Jaggi Singh for No Borders Media. ------- NO BORDERS MEDIA No Borders Media, based in Toronto and Montreal, is an autonomous left-wing media network. We share and create content that supports the struggles of communities in resistance, with a focus on the self-determination struggles of Indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees and working class people of colour in the context of opposition to capitalism and colonialism. Some current focuses include: migrant justice, resistance to borders, anti-fascism and anarchism. We are in the early stages our independent media project. To stay in touch send us an e-mail at nobordersmedianetwork@gmail.com or look for No Borders Media on facebook and soundcloud. Much more to come in the coming weeks and months. No Borders Media (Toronto/Montreal) fb: www.facebook.com/NoBordersMediaNetwork soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/NoBordersMedia twitter: twitter.com/NoBordersMedia contact: NoBordersMediaNetwork@gmail.com