Cutting to chase on climate
Students have shaved their heads ahead of the nationwide strike against climate change.
Students from Marist College, a school in the central Auckland suburb of Mt Albert, gathered at Aotea Square yesterday to protest the Government’s inaction on climate change.
One of the event’s organisers, Luke Wijohn, said Marist College students had their mock exam scheduled during next week’s strike so many of them would be unable to take part.
Alongside the strike, three students from the University of Auckland were getting their heads shaved – one with ‘‘27’’, another with ‘‘STR’’ and one with ‘‘IKE’’ to mark next week’s climate strike and to raise money for the Amazon.
Next Friday will be the third time students have walked out of school protesting and this time they have called on adults to join them in a nationwide general strike.
Two students from Marist College, twins Rose and Kathleen Lasham, took part in yesterday’s event, bringing with them handmade signs. They were vegan, only bought secondhand clothes and were trying to go plasticfree.
The pair had exams next Friday but still wanted to show their support.
Kathleen said students had been marked as truant in the past for going to climate strikes.
The pair encouraged other people to take part in next week’s strike.
University of Auckland students Ciara Moynihan, Tayla Furlong and Maia Dawidowska were shaving their heads to raise money for the Amazon and were supporting the Marist College students who were protesting.
Moynihan said she was ‘‘really amped’’ to take action and be with the school strikers.
It was important for all three of them to stand up for what they believed in, she said. ‘‘We’re going bald because the Amazon is bald in some places.’’
Fundraising for the Amazon, speaking out against the University of Auckland’s stance on the climate strike and supporting the student strikers at Aotea Square was all connected, she said. ‘‘We can’t stay ignorant to climate change any more – it’s something we see in New Zealand through coal mining and coastal erosion. New Zealand is seen as a liberal country but there are still things we need to stand up for and say no to.’’