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.