SJDA students raise rainbow flag - May. 18, 2010
Barb Rayner/Courier
Sir James Dunn Academy student Jacob Barry raises the rainbow flag during an opening assembly for a Week Against Homophobia taking place at the school. The flag raising took place Friday at noon as there was no school Monday which is International Day Against Homophobia.
BY BARB RAYNER
barbrayn@nbnet.nb.ca
ST. ANDREWS – Students at Sir James Dunn Academy raised the rainbow flag Friday morning and starting today will hold a week of activities in support of the International Day Against Homophobia.
Student Alicia Crichton, who is a member of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance, welcomed everyone to the event noting that Monday, May 17 was International Day Against Homophobia. There was no school that day so they raised the flag Friday.
Recently, she said, a fellow school in District 10 (Fundy High) was prevented from supporting this day due to a large community resistance.
“On behalf of the student body, we would like to express how proud we are of being a part of such an accepting school and community.”
This is SJDA’s second annual Week Against Homophobia and several other events have been organized including a workshop for any student who wants to learn to recognize and prevent homophobia, a make your own rainbow flag day and during a closing ceremony Friday, students and staff are being asked to dress in designated colours.
Crichton asked students to keep an open mind during the week even if they don’t support the cause. Kyrah Scott, who chairs the school’s Gay Straight Alliance, thanked everyone for their support and also urged them to keep an open mind.
“I think it’s really great we can fly a flag like this,” she said.
Vice-principal Cathy Dunfield said what they need to do is accept diversity in all of its facets and no one should be bullied because of race, gender or sexual orientation.
“We need to accept everybody. This is about inclusiveness and we are such a great school for that,” she said and read a letter from Premier Shawn Graham praising the organization of the first ever Gay Straight Alliance student conference being held in New Brunswick which took place on the weekend and saying that everybody should be accepted for who they are.
He congratulated students for being the people who can move forward with that message and said he thought it was the adults who have the problem. Graham said this was a very important conference.
Teacher Shawn Corey said up to 150 students from all over the province would be attending the conference entitled “Building Bridges, Changing Lives” including two from SJDA.
“This is the first Gay Straight Alliance student conference in the history of New Brunswick and a lot of that started here last year at SJDA.We were the first school to raise the rainbow flag in the history of New Brunswick. SJDA has a lot to be proud of.
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