York Catholic school protest takes hostile turn – Toronto | 24CA News
Students at quite a few Catholic colleges in York Region within the Greater Toronto Area held walkouts Thursday to reveal towards the board’s current choice to not fly the Pride flag outdoors of their headquarters throughout Pride month. But at one faculty, these protests took an sudden flip.
Dozens of scholars participated within the walkout at St. Brother Andre in Markham.
“Everyone has a right to love who they want to love and I believe the York District Catholic School Board has infringed upon that,” stated scholar Angelina Martin.
“It’s weird that (the board is) prioritizing the comfort of the parents rather than the safety of students,” stated one other scholar, Maine Cheah.
But these meant messages have been rapidly drowned out by the noise of a rowdy crowd that had joined the demonstration. The disruptive group of scholars tore by way of Pride posters, shouted homophobic slurs, danced on Pride flags and threw Pride bracelets and random objects at individuals, together with Isabella Martinez.
“Some kid threw something at my head. And then in response to that, everyone started cheering. There was a group of guys and they were more so harassing us than supporting us,” she stated.
Following the board’s choice to not fly the Pride flag, queer advocacy group Pflag deemed the York Region Catholic District School Board unsafe for 2SGBTQ+ college students. Spokesperson Tristan Coolman says the YCDSB must take fast motion to guard college students.
“If these kids are the culture that is creating the type of culture of hate, discrimination and bigotry at York Catholic, then the Catholic School Board has an urgent need to act. And they need to act now,” Coolman stated.
The YCDSB spokesperson Mark Brosens tells Global News in an announcement workers are “aware of an assault that occurred during a student protest near St. Brother André Catholic High School, in Markham.”
“School staff were able to quickly assist a student who requested help. Staff have contacted the police and are gathering video footage that could assist in an investigation. Such actions violate the YCDSB Code of Conduct and will not be tolerated. The YCDSB believes that every person is a child of God who is worthy of dignity and respect.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
