By Anna Takala, Year 12
For one of the first times in my life, I felt like maybe I had made an impact. I don’t really know on who; maybe it was the society we live in, maybe it was the community that students inadvertently take part in. I don’t know; but it sure felt good. Throughout my 15 years of living in Geneva, I had never seen so many students getting together to make a difference. I really didn’t think we had it in us. But being a part of a 5000 person crowd, chanting until your voice goes raw, it feels like that community is real. We can make a difference.
This walkout was a student organized protest for reducing carbon emissions in Switzerland, but similar ones have been occurring all over Europe. Only a few days prior to our protest, 12000 students marched through Brussels to demand advancements in Environmental policies. Along with Geneva, walkouts were organized on the 18th of January in Zurich, Bern, Lausanne and other important Swiss cities. It felt like maybe if we yelled just loud enough, they would hear our call for change.
This wave of protests was started by a Swedish 15-year-old girl, who would skip every Friday afternoon of school to demand for climate action. European students heard her, and joined her in their own way. Our school was encourage to join the movement, with authorization from none other than Dr Hughes himself. A friend of mine said it well: “When students begin to demand for action, you know we’ve arrived at a desperate situation”. We need to be the ones advocating for change.
So after it all, when my feet warmed up again after hours of walking in the cold winter air, I could feel my power receding. I knew this had to happen more often. If we were capable of ruining Geneva’s heavy traffic by marching down the middle of important streets, we were capable of making some change. I know that now, and I will never undermine myself in that idea again. Now, all that’s needed is to convince the rest of LGB as well. The group of us representing was tiny. As a school with 2000 students, we can do better. So let our call be heard, let our call be contagious.
