INNISFAIL – For many students in the LGBTQ community it was all about being heard and being accepted.
That’s why students at Innisfail High School joined others across the province on May 3 for a walkout to protest Premier Jason Kenney’s proposed changes to gay-straight alliances in Alberta.
Those changes will see the previous Education Act come into effect, erasing the NDP’s Bill 24, which prevents schools from notifying parents when their child joins a gay-straight alliance (GSA).
“I think that we’re raising awareness for our school. So that (students) know that there’s people around them that hear what they’re saying,” said student Tayah Teertstra.
About 25 to 30 students from grades 9 to 12 at Innisfail High School took part in the peaceful 20-minute walkout.
For many of them, they felt it was the best way to have their concerns heard.
“It’s the only way for us to fight back against stuff that we should be able to control, not him (Kenney),” said Ailey, who didn’t want her last name used. “We should make the decisions and be able to tell our parents about gay-straight alliances.”
Chinook’s Edge School Division officials maintain Innisfail High School has had a GSA for several years and was one of the first schools in the division to establish such a group.
Kurt Sacher, the division's superintendent of schools, said the GSA recently paused for a time to implement needed (staffing) changes.
“They just had to make transitional changes with the staff that are supervising and supporting the GSA,” said Sacher.
He noted that while students have an issue with the new provincial government and proposed changes to GSAs, there is support for them in the division.
“We have very detailed, thorough policies that compel us to do the right thing within the school division where we’re supporting students and creating a safe learning environment and particularly, for any of our more vulnerable student groups, we go out of our way to support and protect them,” explained Sacher.
“We rely on the professionalism of our teachers, who care very much for students, and they’re particularly careful about balancing the needs of the students but also balancing the needs of the parents,” he added. “We have a responsibility to communicate with parents and we’ve always honoured that. We did before Bill 24, we will after Bill 24, and we will after Jason Kenney and the new minister take over and move ahead.”
He said while the division would have preferred a protest that did not disrupt class on Friday, he applauds the manner in which students carried out their protest.
“I applaud how the students responded in Innisfail,” said Sacher. “They were appropriate, it was peaceful and I respect them for that.
"We definitely heard them and we’re open to listening to them at any time.”
Students said GSAs play an important part in students' lives.
“I think it’s incredibly important, mainly because not a lot of students (are) completely accepted at home,” said Kayla, who did not want her last name used. “So having a GSA means that they have an opportunity and a place where they don’t have to hide and they can express themselves.”
See Bachusky commentary on page 6.
