By Kareena Dhillon
Staff Writer
Freshman Gabby Faulkner is controlling her future by arranging a protest next month in the South Bay.
Faulkner has attended protests in the Los Angeles area in the past four months. She went to the school-wide walkout on Nov. 14 and the Women’s March on Jan. 21. By being active in the community, Faulkner is meeting new people and becoming more aware of the effects of recent events.
“I have a 5 year old brother, Tom, and I don’t want him growing up with these ideals,” Faulkner said. “It’s important for me to show him not that one side is good or evil but that this is not normal. He should be taking his own stance on it.”
Photos: Faulkner at the Women’s March in Los Angeles.
Faulkner will be organizing a protest of her own in March or April of this year. She plans to walk from the Hermosa Beach Pier to the Manhattan Beach Pier in a visible, yet not disruptive way, Faulkner said.
“I’m trying to call to action what this new administration stands for, and to recognize that this isn’t normal,” Faulkner said. “I’m still going to protest even though it’s after the election. By protesting we are storing the idea into young people’s memory that this is not a normal thing to happen.”
Visit the Women’s March website to learn more about their upcoming protest in March.
Faulkner attends protests in the greater Los Angeles, such as the Medicare for All rally and the NoDAPL NoKXL protest. NoDAPL is protesting the creation of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL Pipelines. Faulkner is from the United Kingdom, where healthcare is a human right, so she feels strongly about others receiving healthcare as well. She has a breathing machine and relies on it to live and knows firsthand the importance of medical insurance.
Click here to read an article about the NoDAPL Protest.
“I think it’s great what she’s doing,” Faulkner’s friend Liz King said. “She is using her voice to spread love instead of hate and it is really inspiring.”
Faulkner has taken different measures to be proactive with the recent legislation. She is one of fifteen ambassadors in Project Femme, which tries to get youths and members of the LGBT community to vote and run for office. At the Women’s March, Faulkner teamed up with several other women and sent snippets of their posters to the White House, detailing the holder of the poster and why they were there, said Faulkner.
The Women’s March in Los Angeles had an amazing turnout as 20% of the LA population came to support on January 21st. The “pro-woman” march took place in downtown Los Angeles.
“Despite having known her a short amount of time, she’s a really true friend of mine,” Costa freshman Kaiyl McCain said. “She’s truly amazing and stands up for what she believes in, and that is something a lot of people strive to be able to do. She is a fine feminist.”
There are over 20 protests that Faulkner is planning on attending in Los Angeles. They are all relatively close as she is able to take a train there or get to it on foot said Faulkner. It’s important for the young generation to be heard said Faulkner.
“Even if there’s no direct change from this we still need to make sure our voices are heard,” Faulkner said. “That our voices and opinions are out there. We need to show that we are strong and not going to let this slide over the next four to eight years.”
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