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Halton Catholic School Board slammed for banning gay-straight student groups
The Halton Catholic District School Board has banned student gay-straight alliances, despite a new Ontario law that urges schools to create these or similar equity-based clubs if requested by a student.
The controversial decision by the sprawling school board west of Toronto has sparked outrage among gay rights and equity activists — including a Halton board trustee who is gay — and launched a Facebook petition. It’s even been slammed by American celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who, citing an article in Xtra!, called the ban “not cool.”
Under particular fire is board chair Alice Anne LeMay for naming “Nazi groups” as another type of student group that, like gay-straight alliances, do not belong in schools, noting they “don’t fall within the teachings of the Catholic church.”
However Paul Marai, a newly elected Halton Catholic board trustee who is gay, says he’ll challenge the ban at the next board meeting.
“Clearly this is an issue now that the community is concerned about,” he says. “No one has asked what’s best for the students in this situation.”
Marai, 22, graduated from Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School within the board he now represents. He says he has always found the Catholic community in Oakville and Halton to be tolerant and accepting of all identities.
He calls the ban a “waste of time,” and says he’d rather be discussing more pressing issues, such as student success and technology in the classroom.
“Why this was enacted in the first place I don’t know,” says Marai.
LeMay has since apologized for comparing gay-straight alliances with Nazi groups. In a notice on its website Monday the board states the ban is actually meant to protect the privacy of gay students whose homosexuality might be publicized against their wishes by joining such a group.
“It was not my intent to make any type of comparison between gay straight alliances and Nazi groups,” said LeMay in the board’s statement. “Rather, I was providing a number of examples of groups that are not endorsed and permitted in Halton Catholic schools, for example, groups in favour of abortion or hate groups of any nature. I did not make a direct comparison between gay straight alliances and any of these groups, nor was that my intent.”
The Catholic church recognizes the dignity of all persons, said the statement, adding that “for this reason the Board’s current Equity and Inclusive Education Policy specifically counsels against gay straight alliances, which necessitate students to self-identify according to sexual orientation.”
However supporters say the dual nature of these after-school clubs actually protects students’ privacy, because no one need know whether you went to a meeting because you are gay or because you have friends who are gay.
The importance of such clubs was underscored in Ontario’s new Keeping Our Kids Safe At School Act, (Bill 157) passed February 2010 which promotes a welcoming climate for all, compels staff to report any harassment or gender-based violence, and requires schools to “give support to students who wish to participate in gay-straight alliances and in other student-led activities that promote understanding and development of healthy relationships.”
Catherine Fife is president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association, and she said Monday “religious rights should not trump human rights in our schools. Gay-straight alliances are one way to create a venue for understanding and conversation, which is the only way to end discrimination.”
The Halton Catholic District School Board has banned student gay-straight alliances, despite a new Ontario law that urges schools to create these or similar equity-based clubs if requested by a student.
The controversial decision by the sprawling school board west of Toronto has sparked outrage among gay rights and equity activists — including a Halton board trustee who is gay — and launched a Facebook petition. It’s even been slammed by American celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who, citing an article in Xtra!, called the ban “not cool.”
Under particular fire is board chair Alice Anne LeMay for naming “Nazi groups” as another type of student group that, like gay-straight alliances, do not belong in schools, noting they “don’t fall within the teachings of the Catholic church.”
However Paul Marai, a newly elected Halton Catholic board trustee who is gay, says he’ll challenge the ban at the next board meeting.
“Clearly this is an issue now that the community is concerned about,” he says. “No one has asked what’s best for the students in this situation.”
Marai, 22, graduated from Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School within the board he now represents. He says he has always found the Catholic community in Oakville and Halton to be tolerant and accepting of all identities.
He calls the ban a “waste of time,” and says he’d rather be discussing more pressing issues, such as student success and technology in the classroom.
“Why this was enacted in the first place I don’t know,” says Marai.
LeMay has since apologized for comparing gay-straight alliances with Nazi groups. In a notice on its website Monday the board states the ban is actually meant to protect the privacy of gay students whose homosexuality might be publicized against their wishes by joining such a group.
“It was not my intent to make any type of comparison between gay straight alliances and Nazi groups,” said LeMay in the board’s statement. “Rather, I was providing a number of examples of groups that are not endorsed and permitted in Halton Catholic schools, for example, groups in favour of abortion or hate groups of any nature. I did not make a direct comparison between gay straight alliances and any of these groups, nor was that my intent.”
The Catholic church recognizes the dignity of all persons, said the statement, adding that “for this reason the Board’s current Equity and Inclusive Education Policy specifically counsels against gay straight alliances, which necessitate students to self-identify according to sexual orientation.”
However supporters say the dual nature of these after-school clubs actually protects students’ privacy, because no one need know whether you went to a meeting because you are gay or because you have friends who are gay.
The importance of such clubs was underscored in Ontario’s new Keeping Our Kids Safe At School Act, (Bill 157) passed February 2010 which promotes a welcoming climate for all, compels staff to report any harassment or gender-based violence, and requires schools to “give support to students who wish to participate in gay-straight alliances and in other student-led activities that promote understanding and development of healthy relationships.”
Catherine Fife is president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association, and she said Monday “religious rights should not trump human rights in our schools. Gay-straight alliances are one way to create a venue for understanding and conversation, which is the only way to end discrimination.”
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