Sudbury students protest cancellation of anti-bullying event
There were protests Monday in response to a decision by the Rainbow District School Board to cancel an anti-bullying event that contained drag elements.
A student says the board told him it was too political and hypersexual.
Billboards and chants of ‘Classroom not a closet’ echo the hurt and anger amongst a group of students at Sudbury’s Lo-Ellen Secondary School.
Ra’Jah Mohamed said the school board decided to cancel the Courage Across Canada Tour for Anti-bullying Campaign International Day of Pink event at the last minute, despite the fact organizers followed proper procedures.
The presentation included elements of drag, which Mohamed said he believes led to the event’s cancellation.
“To call it hypersexual is one thing, calling it political is another thing,” Mohamed said.
“And then to not respond to our concerns and our voices in the petition that has over 2,700 signatures, it’s crazy and it’s completely, completely disingenuous.”
Now, the event will go ahead at College Boreal instead.
Mohamed said it’s the sound of silence from the school board that sends a message of its own to LGTBQ+ students.
“That their queer kids are not going to be listened to, they’re not going to be valued at rainbow district school board schools,” he said.
“That’s clear from how they’ve been treating this -- that’s how they’ve been treating us.”
Grade 10 student Lily Rose Lachance said she was infuriated by the school board’s decision.
“Every bit performative activism they try to shove in our faces as proof they’re progressive, while going around pulling stunts like this,” Lachance said.
“We will not back down. We exist. And that’s not stopping.”
There were protests Monday in response to a decision by the Rainbow District School Board to cancel an anti-bullying event that contained drag elements. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News)
Sudbury MPP Jaime West said the event was to allow people to feel seen.
“I think it’s important to recognize this was age-appropriate, this was educational, this wasn’t going to be a drag show, this was about people feeling represented,” West said.
The Rainbow board declined a request for an interview to comment on the protest, deferring to a statement it sent last week.
Students CTV News spoke with said they would like the school board to offer an apology to acknowledge the hurt they say they’ve caused.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.