Saskatoon students say high school is censoring Pride week
Students at a Catholic school in Saskatoon say their high school is restricting and censoring Pride week celebrations.
Members of the Youth Alliance Club at Holy Cross High School told CTV News strict directives have been laid out regarding how staff should handle the week celebrating LGBTQ2S+ diversity.
Pride Week must be called “We All Belong Week” and there cannot be any school-wide events or announcements, according to members of the club.
“Students are not allowed to speak over the intercoms and address the problems or the joys that we experience from being queer. Only adults are allowed to speak,” Tailor Schubert, a Grade 11 student at Holy Cross, told CTV News.
Schubert was told the rules were put in place to appease teachers and students “who are uncomfortable with the existence of queer students,” but it in turn, Schubert believes LGBTQ2S+ voices are being silenced.
We All Belong Week events must take place in a separate room — instead of an open space, like a cafeteria — according to Schubert.
“I feel we're being treated unfairly,” Schubert said.
ERASED FROM YEARBOOK
Schubert said the Youth Alliance Club was also left out of the yearbook because the photo featured the Pride flag.
The students suggested editing out the flag, but the club said the idea was rejected.
“We’re just being pushed to the side and I wish we could celebrate ourselves freely,” said Emmerson, a Grade 10 student at Holy Cross.
In an email to CTV News, Derrick Kunz, a spokesperson for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) said he doesn’t know why the Youth Alliance Club was left out of the yearbook and wasn’t able to reach the principal.
“All students, no matter their circumstance or how they identify, are welcomed and supported — especially students who are marginalized,” Kunz wrote in an email.
“We are all beloved children of God, so the notion that all belong is how inclusion is commonly expressed.”
Members of the Holy Cross Youth Alliance Club are shown in a photo. (Laura Woodward/CTV News)
Last week, an internal email from the school division’s superintendent of education, Tom Hickey, was leaked. Hickey told Catholic elementary school principals to keep students away from the Pride-themed Rainbow Tent at the Nutrien Children’s Festival of Saskatchewan.
The email prompted a strong backlash from parents, students and the unions representing teachers and support staff at Catholic schools. On Thursday, protestors converged on the GSCS head office.
While speaking with protestors, Hickey acknowledged “a trust has been broken.”
Protestors asked Hickey what steps the division is taking to move forward.
Hickey said he’s looking forward to working with staff about ”how to support students and better welcome them into our schools.”
At the start of the week, the office's windows were splattered with fluorescent paint and covered with heart and unicorn stickers.
The paint was still visible on the office's windows during the protest Thursday afternoon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.