Sorry for being away for almost a month - I got extremely busy with a musical I was putting on at school!
Now - back to business.
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| Taken from bornlikethis.org |
GSA vs. Respecting Differences
The Ministry of Education in Ontario states that all publicly-funded schools must have clubs where students from the LGBT communities (or students who are interested) can come together to discuss anything to do with equity for LGBT students. The suggested group name is "Gay-Straight Alliance" (known by most as GSA).
Ontario's Catholic Schools have banned using the word "Gay" in the group's name, and have decided on the name "Respecting Differences" as the suggested group name. Instead of being specific to LGBT issues, the group would focus on all types of bullying.
The Catholic Church does not condone sexual acts performed out of marriage, and they accept that some people are homosexuals. However, just as heterosexuals, they should not act on their impulses.
Share your opinion!
I've given a very brief summary of this issue. Should Ontario's Catholic schools (which are funded by all Ontarian's tax money) be allowed to ban GSAs? Or could the Respecting Differences clubs be a fair solution for Catholic schools?
Stay Beautiful,
Lisa
When I was in high school, not an extremely long time ago, there was no such thing as GSAs. And thinking about it now, they probably would have been quite useful. Not to diminish bullying, which LGBT students often face regularly, students who would turn to a group like the GSA may also be suffering from internal conflict, bullying at home, and in the case of the Catholic School system, an added feeling of no longer belonging in a community that you were raised in. I won't go into the issue with Catholicism too much for fear of becoming ranty, so I'll leave it that. To sum up, why do all social justice issues need to be clumped into one group? Some issues need much more support and a different environment for openness and sharing than may be accepted in a group focusing on bullying in general.
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