Two of our Youth Committee members, Teia and EJ, have added their voices to the HCDSB debate over raising a Pride flag this coming June. Teia joined her mom to delegate the motion on April 20th. EJ wrote a letter that was included in the agenda for the next meeting when it will be decided. EJ also designed a FB frame that has been added by over 800 people in just a couple days.Click here to watch Teia in action. EJ’s letter is below.So proud of our advocates!
Love,The Moms
Friday, April 23rd, 2021
Re: Supporting Our Diverse School Community
Dear HCDSB Trustees and Staff,
My name is EJ and I am a grade 8 student in a HCDSB school. I am a proud ally of the LGBTQ2S+ community and a member of Free Mom Hugs Southern Ontario’s Youth Advisory Committee. After watching the last school board meeting with my parents, I asked if I could delegate at the next one to share my thoughts on what I heard. Thank you for including this letter in your meeting agenda instead of my delegation presentation.
Through my volunteer work with Free Mom Hugs Southern Ontario, I have learned that although we live in Canada, there is still a lot of discrimination towards the LGBTQ2S+ community. So much so that our group offers hugs as allies (pre-Covid) because sometimes when LGBTQ2S+ people come out to their families, they are not supported or even hugged by them anymore. I have been to Pride events in Hamilton with my family and have never seen anything that the Catholic Church would say is sinful or wrong.
I think flying the flag every June, like Halton Public District School Board already does, does not go against what we are taught in our faith. Even if the Catholic Church doesn’t support gay marriage or unwanted children being adopted by someone who is gay, neither of those things affect kids in school because you have to be an adult to get married or adopt. What DOES affect kids is feeling loved and accepted as a child of a gay couple and kids feeling loved and accepted when they realize they are a part of the LGBTQ2S+ community. We learn in Religion and Family Life, that sex is saved for after marriage. So, this motion isn’t about that, it’s about supporting kids that are LGBTQ2S+ and a reminder to all staff and students that everyone is loved in our schools.
I know some people in our school board think LGBTQ2S+ kids should go to a public school if they don’t feel accepted at their Catholic school, but often, they don’t have a choice about what school they go to. Their parents decide for them. They obviously don’t know they are part of the LGBTQ2S+ community when they start in kindergarten, so even if their parents let them switch schools, I don\’t think it\’s fair that they have to leave all their friends and not have a faith-based education because of who they are. In my school, I have heard hateful language and slurs against LGBTQ2S+ people by other students. I think there’s a lot of this kind of thing going on without the staff knowing, just because our LGBTQ2S+ friends have asked us to not “out them”. Flying a flag and putting up Safe Space posters is a first step towards our board being truly inclusive. Hopefully when people see the flag, they will be encouraged to act more inclusively and not bully LGBTQ2S+ people anymore.
I know the cost of large flags is expensive, but I think we could ask parents to organize an online fundraiser at each school or we could have a Spirit/Civvies Day and ask families to donate a loonie or toonie towards the cost of the flag at their school. Or I would be willing to create a GoFundMe page for this important cause to share on Free Mom Hugs Southern Ontario\’s social media, which I know will get attention and support.
If this motion is approved, I think it will not only be a good thing for the LGBTQ2S+ kids to feel seen, heard and more included, but for everyone in our school board to recognize that we are inclusive and will not stand for bullying the LGBTQ2S+ community anymore. We have an opportunity for our school board to be leaders here, putting into action what our Pope, Bishop and many priests believe…that we are to love everyone, just as they are.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this very important subject. I appreciate that you are giving HCDSB students a voice in this, as it impacts us and our friends the most.
Sincerely,
EJ Sephton
she/her