These Ontario students protesting against OSAP cuts are wearing red squares. Here's why

A simple red felt square — a symbol of student resistance from more than a decade ago in Quebec — is making a resurgence on Ontario campuses this week.

Red squares attached by a safety pin were handed out by volunteers at the University of Waterloo's Student Life Centre on Monday.

Dubbed red square day by organizers, the event was held ahead of a planned mass protest on Wednesday calling for the provincial government to reverse its plans to change the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

Damian Mihkail, president of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), stopped to take a red square pin from the volunteers on Monday.

“The red square, to me, means that I value that education isn't gated behind income, gated behind your family background,” Mikhail told CBC News.

“Everyone should be able to live the life that they're trying to live, or at least have a fair shot at it."

Volunteers handed out red squares at Wilfrid Laurier University's Waterloo campus Monday afternoon.

Nora Schwindt, a sociology student at Laurier who runs a protest page on Instagram, explained the red square was chosen "because of the 2011/2012 protests in Quebec against a similar situation."

“We're adopting this symbol because they were successful in standing against the government and getting those changes reversed,” Schwindt said. “The symbol is already used and known and we are hoping that will help us."

An Instagram account called Ontario Protest noted red square days were planned at other campuses on Monday including University of Ottawa, McMaster University in Hamilton, Brock University in St. Catharines, Humber College in Toronto, Western University in London, Toronto Metropolitan University and Durham College in Oshawa. University of Guelph's Central Student Association was scheduled to hold an event on Tuesday.

Premier Doug Ford announced the cuts to OSAP late last month with the expectation that they will kick in this fall.

The new program would see grants making up only 25 per cent of total financial aid, while loans will rise to 75 per cent. This marks a major shift from the previous system, where students received up to 85 per cent of their aid as grants and up to 15 per cent as loans.

Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research, Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn told CBC News the changes are an investment, saying the benefits of post-secondary education outweighs financial pressures.

"To me, it's money well spent on the student side," Quinn said.