Leaside HS students will join province-wide walkout Friday

The Bulldog has been contacted by four grade eleven students from Leaside High School to let us know that they have teamed up to organize a school walkout on Friday, September 21st, at 1 p.m. on the back field of Leaside High School (Howard Talbot Park, 635 Eglinton Ave E). It is the same time and day over 40 schools across Ontario are participating in their own individual walkouts. This walkout is to protest the reverting of the newly updated sex-ed curriculum (2015) to the one taught in 1998. In the 1998 curriculum, students were not taught about modern sex ed topics such as LGBTQ+ issues within sexual education, consent and safe sexting. The walkout will also protest the lack of priority given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which will halt the effort to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and teachings in Ontario classrooms. Finally, the walkout will address the $100 million budget cut to school repair funds that Doug Ford issued under his government rule for Ontario public schools.