Students diversify

Teenagers shouldn’t have to worry about being picked on at high school, says a Grade 9 student.

Lakehead Public Schools held its third annual Youth Embracing Diversity in Education student conference on Tuesday. More than 80 students from Grade 7 to 12 from different schools met at the Airlane Travelodge to celebrate diversity and acceptance.

The students divided into teams and attended workshops to discuss the four themes of the conference: anti-homophobia, cultural sensitivity, racism and sexism/women’s issues.

Katrina Cianfagna, Grade 9 student at Westgate High School, attended the conference for the first time and said she wanted to learn more on how to change her high school for the better.

"One person can make a difference…I 100 per cent believe that," Katrina said. "There are so many people in this room and they can all make a change."

Katrina said she looked forward to the sexism/women’s issue conference because of issues she has had at school. A competitive cheerleader at Westgate, Katrina said students picked on her because she was on the cheerleading team.

She added that more dialogue about bullying would go a long way.

"High school should be a fun experience not a place where you are scared to go," she said.
Robin Laye, chair of the Lakehead Public Schools Diversity Committee, said they added sexism and women’s issues after they asked students for ideas on what issues they wanted to discuss. The two conferences held before this year’s didn’t discuss those issues, she said.

"I think women’s issues is something that the students are noticing that they need some assistance with," Laye said. "So many issues come up that women’s issues often take a back burner but it’s something the students are noticing that they need guidance and assistance with."

Laye said the public school board wanted to ensure their students become excellent citizens and more open to other cultures foreign to them through conferences such as YEDE.