Students at a number of Catholic schools in York Region in the Greater Toronto Area held walkouts Thursday to demonstrate against the board’s recent decision not to fly the Pride flag outside of their headquarters during Pride month. But at one school, those protests took an unexpected turn.
Dozens of students participated in 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,” said student Angelina Martin.
“It’s weird that (the board is) prioritizing the comfort of the parents rather than the safety of students,” said another student, Maine Cheah.
But these intended messages were quickly drowned out by the noise of a rowdy crowd that had joined the demonstration. The disruptive group of students tore through Pride posters, shouted homophobic slurs, danced on Pride flags and threw Pride bracelets and random objects at people, including 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 said.
Following the board’s decision to not fly the Pride flag, queer advocacy organization Pflag deemed the York Region Catholic District School Board unsafe for 2SGBTQ+ students. Spokesperson Tristan Coolman says the YCDSB needs to take immediate action to protect 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 said.
The YCDSB spokesperson Mark Brosens tells Global News in a statement staff 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.”