SYDNEY, N.S. — Raqeem Haq hopes future Whitney Pier Middle School students won't have to deal with misgendering like they sometimes have.
The Grade 8 student is gender fluid and said along with misgendering, they've been a victim of bullying and unacceptance.
It's something Haq and other members of the school's Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) are hoping to combat with a number of initiatives through the 2020-21 school year, done with help from school guidance teacher Maureen MacNamara.
Monthly, a new LGBTQ+ flag is flown outside the office and the GSA is getting ready to paint a new diversity wall celebrating inclusivity, part of which includes student handprints.
"The hands are a symbol of our bond to each other. A symbol that we can trust each other," Haq said.
"A lot of people don't have that kind of trust, their own support system ... The GSA and my friends are that kind of support system for me. Everybody deserves to have that kind of support system."
Whitney Pier school's GSA also helped shape a three-day virtual LGBTQ+ education conference for all students and teachers that was overseen by MacNamara.
Held in December, Madonna Doucette and the Cape Breton Youth Project were enlisted to deliver the content of the conference, which covered appropriate language, LGBTQ+ definitions and guest speakers.
Both MacNamara and school principal Maralyn Delaney said the decision to host the virtual conference was based on what students were saying they needed.
Guest speakers have included Sefin Stefura, a university student from Dominion who was the first transgender person to be valedictorian at Sydney Academy; Mitch Hill, an LGBTQ+ educator with the Cape Breton Youth Project and Vanessa Walker from the Cape Breton Centre for Sexual Health.
FREE TO BE
MacNamara said one of the main objectives of the conference was to make the school a safe, welcoming place for all students, allowing them to feel "free to be who they are."
"Educating the whole student community was the best way to make our school safe for everybody," MacNamara said.
During the virtual conference workshops, MacNamara said the students connected with Doucette, making them laugh and openly share their opinions.
"It was just beautiful the way it was done," she said. "Those students were able to quietly infuse their experience into the presentation being given, without outing themselves."
WORK TO BE DONE
Haq said so far they haven't noticed any changes after the conference.
"I think that's in part to a lot of middle schoolers can be very stubborn and they don't really listen to anyone else in the sense that their beliefs are their beliefs and that they are not really open-minded," Haq said. "Personally, I haven't seen a difference, but I hope I will but I haven't seen it yet."
Ben and Olivia, two other GSA members who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, said they have seen some positive changes since the conference.
"One positive impact I have seen is more people have joined the GSA as the days went on after the conference," said 11-year-old Olivia, who is in Grade 6.
"In some aspects, it worked great ... of course there are always those few kids who never listen but in the aspects that it worked, a few people know more about (the LGBTQ+ community) and realized what's wrong to say and what's okay to say," said 12-year-old Ben, who is in Grade 7.
"I really think we're on a path to something good ... all around people have been more accepting and I feel that's what we truly want ... I actually believe the GSA is making a difference."
Nicole Sullivan is an education, enterprise and diversity reporter for the Cape Breton Post.
