Gay-straight alliances become Respecting Differences clubs
January 26, 2012
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Louise Brown
EDUCATION REPORTER
For eight months, a small Catholic think tank tackled one of the most delicate balancing acts in Ontario education: What to call the anti-homophobia clubs that Ontario schools must now allow — without calling them gay-straight alliances and offending the Vatican?
While common in public high schools, “gay-straight alliances” were seen as too politicized for a system whose faith disapproves of the homosexual act.
So what do you call clubs that support gay students but not gay activism? It was a hot potato on which a province-wide committee of Catholic trustees, students, parents and clergy could not agree.
The September deadline came and went.
First term came and went.
Now, at last, the puff of white smoke has emerged. In a report sent Thursday to schools, the committee suggests anti-bullying groups be called “Respecting Difference clubs.” They must have a staff advisor committed to the Catholic faith, they are not to provide personal counseling in a group setting, and are not to be a forum for “activism, protest or advocacy of anything that is not in accord with the Catholic faith foundation of the school,” says the 15-page blueprint sent out this week to all Catholic school boards.
“This is about helping kids feel safe against bullying, not as advocacy for a lifestyle,” said Nancy Kirby, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association. “We have nothing against homosexuals, but it’s the (homosexual) act that is in contradiction of the teachings of the church.”
Kirby said “gay-straight alliance” is an American-made term for groups that lobby for adult issues that go beyond the mandate of a school club. The Respecting Difference clubs can be broad-based equity groups or focus specifically on anti-homophobia, she said.
However, Mississauga student Leanne Iskander doesn’t like the new term at all.
“It highlights the difference, rather than the similarities, and it should be about more than just respect — it should be about accepting people as they are,” said the Grade 12 student at St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School, who pushed unsuccessfully for a gay-straight alliance at her school. Instead, the school has allowed an anti-homophobia club called Open Arms, which Iskander said is planning some awareness events this spring.
Queen’s Park now requires all school boards to have “equity and inclusive education” policies and to fight bullying, including homophobia.
Kirby has said Catholic schools are committed to supporting students bullied because of their sexual orientation, noting their suicide rates are higher than among their heterosexual peers.
The report also stresses that issues of sexuality be presented against the backdrop of Catholic sexual morality, which encourages chastity for all students of any orientation until marriage. That’s not a message typically associated with gay-straight alliances, noted Sharon McMillan, media coordinator for the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association — “but it’s the same hope shared by many Ontario parents.”