Students from across the city will celebrate National Day of Action with CFS this year.

Students at George Brown College (GBC) can fight for affordable and accessible post-secondary education on Nov. 8.

After seven years, Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has once again called on students across the country to rally on this year’s National Day of Action to demand a free, accessible, and quality education system.

In response to this call, the Student Association of George Brown College (SAGBC) is hosting a group of students, faculty, and staff to join the rally with CFS-Ontario in downtown Toronto.

Diana Cortes, academic coordinator with the SAGBC says, “We truly believe that it’s really important for students to be involved in not just in their academic experience within the college, but also to know about how the politics and the decisions taken in higher levels can impact [them].”

The rally will start at Grange Park at 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, and end at Queen’s Park that afternoon. Prior to the rally, participating GBC students will need to gather at any of the three major campuses and then move to the park.

Participants will be given transit tokens, which will be distributed during the gathering at each campus. They will also be provided with light snacks and any other necessities for the rally.

The SAGBC Equity and Advocacy department has been preparing for the event since early October.

The part time staff at Academic Support program and Community Care Centre have received training about the National Day of Action, class talks have been held to inform students across the college, and newsletter and other forms of information outreach has been conducted.

Organizers are also providing students with a walk-in poster creation opportunity over the next week. Interested students can drop by the poster-making spaces any time up until Nov. 7 to create posters for the rally.

“I want to see the students united to fight for their own rights and to build a better future to voice out as students, together calling for a better educational environment,” said Ximing Yao, the second academic coordinator.

Cortes notes her excitement to see students coming together and fight for the rights the Academic Support program aims to educate them on.

“I think that it is great to have students converting into just one cause and working along to fight for their own rights. Especially important to the Academic Support Program because we aim to encourage students to fight for, the stand for the rights. So, it is a great opportunity to advocate for them but also to help them to develop those skills of advocating and to fight for rights.”

Other SAGBC services such as SafeWalk will be present during the rally to provide first-aid or guide during transportation.

Interested students are required to register to participate in the rally by clicking here. All students are welcome and encouraged to join the rally.

The timeline for the day includes:

• Meet at each campus:
  • Casa Loma 11 a.m.
  • St. James 11 a.m.
  • Waterfront 10:30 a.m.
• Meet other CFS groups at Grange Park: 12:30 p.m.
• Rally at Queen’s Park: 2 p.m.