{"id":48742,"date":"2019-10-24T19:30:17","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T22:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huddle.today\/?p=48742"},"modified":"2022-07-13T12:50:05","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T15:50:05","slug":"students-feel-a-desperate-urge-to-do-something-with-climate-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huddle.today\/2019\/10\/24\/students-feel-a-desperate-urge-to-do-something-with-climate-strikes\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Feel ‘A Desperate Urge To Do Something’ With Climate Strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

SAINT JOHN – On many Friday mornings in the past year, the square and streets outside of Saint John City Hall come to life with groups of varying sizes carrying posters and megaphones, chanting and making pleas for a change in how the city views climate change.<\/h4>\n

At one of the events in late September, Kiefer Sullivan stands in front of the crowd, megaphone in hand, urging on protesters on with energy and passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always hope,\u201d says Sullivan, a Grade 12 student at Saint John High School. \u201cChange right now is more possible than it\u2019s ever been. Because on a united scale young people, people who are educated, people who have been fighting this for years, they feel united in a way that they never have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Climate change strikes have become a regular occurrence in the last year in cities around the world, with young leaders like Greta Thunberg, the now-famous activist who gave the stirring speech before the UN, pushing for change from her home country, Sweden. Her actions have set the precedent for what would eventually become the Fridays For Future<\/a> movement, the series of protests which students across the world that are still taking place more than a year after the first one.<\/p>\n

Not all of the young people gathering outside city hall in Saint John are as hopeful and optimistic as Sullivan. Some don\u2019t see eye-to-eye on the issues or solutions and they come from different backgrounds. Yet, they all are gathered together to fight for their future.<\/p>\n

And the spirit of the protests doesn\u2019t stop when they leave the streets. While wandering the halls of Harbour View High School it isn\u2019t rare to hear murmurings of upcoming protests or of experiences of previous ones. Some teachers even participate and encourage their students to do so. The more the protests seep their way into everyday life the more people believe that this fight is worth it.<\/p>\n