Red door’s purpose revealed
The mystery of the red door has been solved.
The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board revealed in a press release Wednesday that it’s behind the different coloured, free-standing doors that popped up in New Glasgow, Elmsdale, Amherst, and Truro last week.
They are part of the lead-up to the school board’s Stand Up. Speak Out. event on Sept. 14.
“The mystery doors are symbolic of open door, open mind. Five bright and different colors were chosen to represent the five pillars of social justice,” explained Gary Adams, CCRSB superintendent. “The doors have created quite a buzz, with everyone wondering what they are about. We wanted to attract attention to an event that addresses so many important issues for our students.”
The CCRSB hosts the event, which focuses on anti-bullying and has expanded to include the five pillars representing race, class, gender, sexual orientation and abilities, every year. The 2017 theme is What’s Your Story?
“We have to recognize the complexity of bullying, so in the last couple of years we’ve moved toward a deeper conversation about social justice as an important piece of Stand Up. Speak Out. This year’s campaign goes deeper still by promoting the five pillars through the doors,” said Adams.
“It is through our stories that we know each other, it is through our stories that we build relationships and empathy, and it is through our stories that we can more deeply understand the pillars of social justice. If we know someone’s story, we are more likely to treat them with respect and understanding.”
Last Wednesday, the red door appeared in New Glasgow near the riverfront gazebo beside Glasgow Square.
The CCRSB said the doors will stay where they are until Sept. 14, before they are placed in schools, to be decorated by students and “become even more representative of the pillars of social justice.”
In May, the doors will form an art installation “truly representative of the five pillars,” the release said.
Stand Up. Speak Out. will be hosted by Cobequid Educational Centre in Truro on Sept. 14. Full details about the event, including speakers and special guests, will be released early in September.