CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
Catholic school students, staff see progress
Having been one of the early student activists in the Catholic school board’s LGBTQ community, Eli Marentette had a simple and optimistic message for the 100 students gathered at Friday’s WEShine event at Holy Names high school.
It gets better and it gets better much quicker when you become truly authentic with yourself.
“That moment for me was going to an OUTShine conference in Winnipeg in 2015,” Marentette said of the conference for youth and supporters in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Queer community.
“I had the safe space to be the authentic version of myself. Once I came back, I had to live the most authentic life I could.
“If I want to continue to be that happy for the rest of my life, it was something I had to do.”
Now a second-year sociology and community development student at Western University, the 19-yearold Villanova grad was thrilled to be invited back to address the gathering of students, teachers, administrators and community partners.
“The key point in the message I wanted to share, knowing what high school students go through, is I’m in a great place and I’m happy,” Marentette said.
“They’ll be surrounded by people who are accepting, regardless of their sexual identification. There is space for them in Catholic schools.”
Marentette said it was encouraging that one student told him for the first time Friday he felt comfortable enough to admit in public he was gay.
He recalls getting past his own fears was a huge step.
“The fear of the unknown held me back,” Marentette said.
Hosting the WEShine event shows just how far things have come at the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board in such a short time.
The Catholic board also has had two high schools (St. Anne, Villanova) recognized with Premier’s Awards for work in the area of inclusivity for the LGBTQ and disadvantaged communities.
“We wanted to bring the community together and share where we’re going and celebrate how far we’ve come,” said Danielle Desjardins-Koloff, principal of Safe Schools, Equity and Inclusion.
“It was a reminder they’re very much part of our faith-based journey.
“I also wanted to have school leaders, teachers, administrators and campus ministers be together and share the passion of their love for these kids.”
In addition to speakers, the group did interactive activities, case studies based on real-life situations, explore their dreams and engage in group discussions.
“Kids left feeling more connected, they met some friends and networked,” said Desjardins Koloff, who added the board has increased professional development for teachers and administrators on supporting LGBQT students.
Marentette said through education, school environments are more accepting of the LGBTQ community.
“Because of gay-straight alliances, kids are asking genuine questions,” Marentette said.
“It’s become more normalized. Staff have learned how important it is to support these kids and help them sort through it.”