CMS Students March in Climate Strike

Post by Ivy (8th grade); photo courtesy of L. Bigler

On Friday, September 20, and the days following, Climate Strikes were held all around the country to protest climate inaction. People from all over were leaving their normal daily routine to attend the various protests.

The majority of the 8th grade class from CMS left school around 10:50 AM sporting all sorts of signs bearing phrases to support the cause. We all went to the University of Illinois campus and marched with the crowds. Tons of people were there, dressed mainly in orange, the designated color for the march. Collective call and response calls were shouted by everyone, our collective shouts echoing across the campus. We called out to save our earth. Despite the hundreds of people, we spoke with one voice in unison.

We made multiple laps around the north quad, then met with another group of protestors and circled the main quad. With the group at its largest, we could nearly wrap all the way around the 203-by-940 foot quad. The group was massive. We proceeded to march under the hot sun, finally ending at the Alma Mater where speeches were held. We stayed to listen, and share some words of our own.

We returned to school, hot and tired, a few hours later at around 1:00 PM. It was exhausting, but it was also a rewarding and memorable experience. Seeing the seas of people all fighting for one cause makes you really see that there’s strength in numbers, and the strength of all those voices is something we will never forget.