York Catholic District Board students 'deserve to be safe' after alleged violence erupts at LGBTQ2S+ walkout
CTV
Students attending York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) schools are calling on the board to help make LGBTQ2S+ students and staff feel safer at school, after peaceful demonstrations were met with violence last week.
Students attending York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) schools are calling on the board to help make LGBTQ2S+ students and staff feel safer at school, after peaceful demonstrations were met with violence last week.
Last Thursday at around 1:15 p.m., groups of students across YCDSB schools walked out in protest of the board of trustees’ recent decision to not fly the Pride flag for Pride month.
On May 29, after deliberating for many months, YCDSB trustees defeated a motion to fly the Pride Progress flag outside the York Catholic Education Centre with a vote of six to four.
The “Walkout for Action” on June 8 saw students, both LGBTQ2S+ and allies, step out of their classrooms to take a stance for their “right to an inclusive and safe education,” YCDSB Students for Change said in a release.
“Though we had multitudes of support, the simple fact that harm occurred demonstrates the clear need for action on a board level for the support of 2SLGBTQ+ students. Students’ wellbeing in schools is at risk,” the joint statement reads.
Protests at St. Brother Andre CHS, Holy Cross Catholic Academy, Father Bressani CHS, Cardinal Carter CHS, St. Elizabeth CHS, St. Augustine CHS, and St. Maximilian Kolbe CHS were mentioned by YCDSB Students for Change, involving a variety of allegations of violence.
The allegations range from threats, bullying, harassment, and assault, varying per school. YCDSB Students for Change said St. Brother Andre saw “some of the worst forms of hate ever seen in the YCDSB.”
