Ontario Catholic Schools: No Anti-Bullying Groups that Sound "Too Gay"

by Brandon Miller · 2011-05-06 07:04:00 UTC
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Ontario Catholic schools are now allowed to host anti-bullying clubs. The catch? Those clubs still can't use the word "gay" in their titles. Nor can they sound "too gay." Apparently, anything with Rainbows is out of the question.

According to Xtra.ca, students at St. Joseph's Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, were told that "Rainbow Alliance" was an unsuitable name for their club as it is "too LGBT-sounding." Clearly, educators have never seen a Lucky Charms commercial! But, I digress.

According to the president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA), Nancy Kirby, gay-straight alliances are still banned in Catholic schools across the province. She claims that this is because GSAs signal to students that the club's focus is on activism. The OCSTA is forming a committee to decide what to call these umbrella "don't say gay or you will die" groups.

“It won’t be a gay-straight alliance,” Kirby is quoted as saying in Xtra. “When I look at a gay-straight alliance, I see an activist group. We are answering the students' request for support and assistance, not for activism. Students don’t want to become activists; they want to be supported in being bullied by their peers.”

Keep in mind that this is the same school where the principal gave out pamphlets about "curing" homosexuality only a couple of months ago. Queer Ontario is calling on the province to enforce its policy to support gay-straight alliances. You can sign it here.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Brandon Miller is a freelance writer and editor from Toronto, Ontario.

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