Delhi students attend OUTShine GSA Summit
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The Delhi District Secondary School's Gay-Straight Alliance recently attended a national conference to learn more about creating an inclusive and safer school.
Staff supervisor Colleen Bator and four students attended the OUTShine GSA Summit in Toronto during the Victoria Day long weekend.
The conference was a big step for the organization that formed only weeks before job action halted school extracurricular activities in the fall. It is the first rural GSA in the Grand Erie District School Board, and the only Grand Erie school to attend the conference.
“I guess (I was hoping to get) just some more learning experience, to find out a little bit more. When we first started the group we weren't really sure where to go with the conversation or where to go with different spirit days,” said Lyndi-Colleen Morgan, one of the students to attend the conference.
The conference included eight workshops, a Pride prom, concert, flash mob, film festival and dance circle.
The students learned about Pride weeks, unisex bathrooms, daily announcement spaces and Pride proms being held at other schools across the country.
During workshops the students learned, “how to deal with certain situations at school, like bullying,” said student Megan Stockmans. “We all helped each other out dealing with certain things.”
The workshop groups created an extended family and additional resource for the future.
“Overall, I think it was a super empowering experience for all attendees, no matter what your sexual orientation is. Just learning new avenues for making your school more celebratory of all denominations of sexuality, race and religion,” said Bator.
The group came back energized and ready to do more in their school.
The first step is creating a positive space to entice more students, gay and straight, to join the group.
“I know people have asked about it, 'is it only gay people that can go?' I say no, 'I'm a straight member and I go, I'm there every week,” said Morgan.
The group hopes to create a safer community for everyone.
“We are really grateful to the Delhi community for being such an open community that celebrates all students,” said Bator, but moving forward, the group hopes more people will join the GSA and “Parents at home will continue to love their children no matter what they chose to identify as.”
Sarah Doktor
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