"In my classroom there were times you would hear a lot of ‘That’s so gay’ being a common phrase for ‘That’s so dumb,’ " Teichroew added. "In the hallways recently I haven’t heard one person say ‘That’s so gay.’ "
"A lot of people seem to be more comfortable with being who they are," said Laforet, adding that many students have turned to her and Higgins to confess their sexuality. The alliance’s work has created a noticeably more tolerant, respectful and open environment, they say. Why should students feel unsafe here? You want to walk down the halls and not worry about getting shoved in the lockers and being called a fag. I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Since I’ve started teaching, I’ve seen a lot of kids hurt by the words and actions of other students who just are ignorant to what being gay is about," said visual arts teacher Catharine Teichroew, the group’s advisor. 20 of last year as a display of solidarity for rising gay teen suicides in the United States.Īll this in a time where recent research out of the University of Winnipeg showed 75% of LGBT students in Canada felt unsafe in at least one place at school. The group inspired 90% of the student body to wear purple on Oct.
The group, which meets once a week, has worked at creating information pamphlets on gay rights, an education package for teachers on how to teach acceptance, and is slowly building a presence on Facebook, attracting community and past graduate support. "It shows that we are making a difference and people are able to see and understand that." "It shows the support of the community and that this is a good thing to have in schools and to have in the community," said Higgins of the award. Now, a little more than a year after forming, the group was a YMCA-YWCA peace medal recipient for its work advocating gay rights and promoting tolerance in the school. It offends me that my friends have to go through that." I’ve seen my fair share of them being called fag, gay - every name under the spectrum.
"A lot of my friends personally are gay, bisexual, all over the place.
"Other schools had GSA alliances, but no one seemed to take an initiative, so we decided we would," said Leforet, now in Grade 12.