THUNDER BAY – Mariah Meredith says she never thought she’d see the day a Pride flag would fly outside her school.
It took until the day before she graduates, but the 18-year-old St. Ignatius High School student finally saw her dream come true on Monday, when the flag was raised, with members of the school’s strong gay-straight alliance cheering on.
It’s a great way to go out, Meredith said.
“I’ve been a part of the St. Ignatius Gay-Straight Alliance for all my four years here, so it’s great to see that I can go out with this flag raising,” she said.
“I believe it is important because it shows how as a Catholic school we are inclusive of everyone and we don’t discriminate against anyone, based on their gender identity or sexual identity. We are accepting of every single person, no matter who they are, because God loves everyone and we are all one in God’s eyes.”
Earlier in the day the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board raised a flag outside of St. Patrick High School, and plans to raise Pride flags outside of every one of its schools, a first for the board. For the past two years the board has raised the Pride flag outside of its Victoria Avenue offices.
“Honestly, I did not think this would happen,” Meredith said. “But now that it is happening, it’s honestly a miracle. It’s amazing.”
Principal Mike Filipetti called it a historic day for St. Ignatius High School.
“It’s so important to our students,” he said. “We have such a high number of students who need to see this flag. It provides safety. It saves lives. It really is important for them to see that and know that we are there to be there for students, regardless of gender, sexuality. We’re there to make sure they have a safe environment.”
Across town on Monday afternoon, a group of Catholics protested the flying of the rainbow flag at TBCDSB schools, staging a second silent drive-by of the board office. The first, on June 1, was drowned out by LGBTQ+ counter protesters.
That’s not what the board and its students and staff stand for these days.
“Times are definitely changing. Hopefully in society you’re going to see less and less of the protests and the idea that in some way, the Pride flag is a negative symbol. It truly is so meaningful and I have to give our students a lot of credit. We have one of the largest GSA groups of any high school in Thunder Bay and they’re very vocal, very productive and they’ve done a lot to help have this day happen,” Filipetti said.
