Lorette Collegiate GSA earns citizenship honours

Group recognized for LGBTQ2 advocacy

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This article was published 03/06/2017 (2489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lorette Collegiate’s gender and sexuality alliance uphold their ‘respect always’ motto through promoting acceptance, spreading knowledge and supporting people who are on the LGBTQ2 spectrum.

While fulfilling that motto this school year, the group’s work garnered the attention of the Seine River School Division’s school board. They awarded the GSA with a student citizenship award for a high school group at the board’s last meeting.

The group has about a dozen students and two teacher advisors. They meet once a week on Wednesdays to provide a safe space for students where all, regardless of gender or sexuality, are welcome.

ADRIANA MINGO | THE CARILLON
Students in Lorette Collegiate’s gender and sexuality alliance with their teacher advisor, Megan Collison (far left.)
ADRIANA MINGO | THE CARILLON Students in Lorette Collegiate’s gender and sexuality alliance with their teacher advisor, Megan Collison (far left.)

This year alone, they’ve successfully ran fundraisers for the Rainbow Resource Centre in Winnipeg and pride flag-colour flowers and explanatory signs for Lorette Collegiate’s flower beds.

They’ve advocated for a non-gendered bathroom at the high school, which will be installed over the summer break.

The group also successfully advocated for the high school’s graduation gowns to change from a white for girls, black for guys colour scheme to a gender neutral all black.

Jasmine Peters, a Grade 11 student and one of the group’s student leaders, said at this point in the school year, the group has met all the goals they’ve set out for themselves.

“We promote acceptance and spread information and knowledge about people who aren’t heterosexual, heteroromantic or cisgender,” said Anni Diehl, a Grade 11 and the group’s other student leader. “We support people who support people on the LGBTQ2 spectrum.”

Education is a key element of the group. The GSA gave a presentation to the high school’s teachers during a professional development day to discuss basic terms, what it means to be transgender or any other gender, and how to properly address their classrooms so everyone is comfortable. The GSA also assists teachers with part of the Grade 9 health curriculum on different sexualities.

“I find one of the biggest things we do is within the community here and not just within the school,” said Edmund, a Grade 12 student and member. “We work a lot on trying to bring us into the open. So, for example, with some of the students in the group who are transgender—we do a lot to bring that awareness into the community, because Lorette is a small town and not everyone has a lot of exposure to it.”

However, Edmund notes it’s always a mixed with the community’s reaction to the group’s work.

“For one of our seniors, who is transgender, pushing that railroad—because they were one of the first people to come out at the school—pushing the first bricks of that road, you’re always going to feel some resistance, but I feel overtime we’ve reached a more positive overall [impression.]”

“And compared to previous years where not a lot happened and nobody knew who we were, I feel like we’ve made a lot of strides without getting a lot of pushback,” said Anni Diehl.

Though, as Neo Diehl, a Grade 9 student, notes there still is some pushback and people do make comments in the hallway you don’t want to hear.

Maddison Yetman, a Grade 11 student, said the group also partnered with some of the division’s elementary schools.

“We’ve worked with some of the elementary schools, so when they come into our school, they already know it’s an accepting place for them,” said Yetman.

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