Students walk out over trans policy
Rules would make life `more threatening,' teen organizer at Victoria School says
Nearly 200 students, many decorated with Pride flags and signs, staged a student-led walkout at Victoria School of the Arts in Edmonton on Wednesday morning.
At 10 a.m., students left their classrooms and formed a protest in response to the Alberta government's recent announcement around transgender policies including pronoun use and preferred names.
Oliver Collins, 17, was one of four students who organized the protest and he says he couldn't be more proud to see fellow students have a chance to stand up and have a voice.
“It was incredible,” said Collins. “As organizers, we made the executive decision to allow trans youth to have the microphone. To have an hour to have trans youth talk about what they're going through, what they're feeling; it gave them a voice, and that just doesn't happen enough.”
Collins, who came out as trans three years ago and identifies as a bisexual male, credits his experience at Victoria School to be comfortable enough to identify as trans and he had been an active supporter of other recent protests before Premier Danielle Smith announced the new policies last week.
“I've attended a transphobic protest in the past, and it was very threatening. I had people that wanted to physically hurt me. I had projectiles thrown at me, telling me to go back to Jesus and calling me slurs,” said Collins. “We had roughly 150 students at our protest today that identify as queer or trans and all of the kids in danger of these types of things happening to them. If the province goes through with these policies, it will only make it more threatening.”
The walkout wasn't endorsed by Edmonton Public Schools, but Victoria School principal Stacy Fysh understood why many of the students chose to walk out.
“We understand that students want to express their views and participate in civic actions. Our schools strive to foster an environment of understanding, respect, and dialogue. We encourage our students to engage in respectful conversations about issues that matter to them,” Fysh said in a news release.
A small group of anti-protesters showed up to counter the student-led protest, but it remained peaceful between both groups.
The student-led protest is the latest in a number of different protests toward the United Conservative Party's decision to change transgender policies.
A large protest took place at the legislature grounds this past weekend as well as near Whyte Avenue to support trans youth and their fight against the policy changes. There have been several protests across the province since the announcement was made last week.
Victoria School of the Arts wasn't the only school in the Capital Region to stage a student-led protest. Students at Leduc Composite High School also organized a student walkout on Wednesday.
Collins said his family supported him when he came out about being trans but that's not always the case for many trans youth.
Collins feels if these policies go through it will have an even more negative impact on those in his community.
“My family supports me, and are proud of where I'm at, and who I am, and every kid deserves that. It breaks my heart that not every kid gets that same feeling,” said Collins.
“I've experienced transphobia in my time being out. In my time at school, and even today, but overall my experience has been positive. I have a great community of queer and trans people that are there for me.”
For Collins and the trans youth who attended Wednesday's protest, this isn't just something they're passionate about. It's their life.
“Today was all about giving our community a voice. Share what we have in common, and that we're proud of who we are,” said Collins.
“What is happening is unfair and a breach of human rights.”