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4 = 5 Hills | Thursday, July 15, 2021 | é' theifp.ca HUNDREDS HAVE SIGNED PETITION TO CHANGE POLICY Continued from page 1 across the region claiming the = policy discriminates against non- § Catholics. The policy states that nomi- nees for ine, apeiton must, ents, have “active eats membership and ew ut — has real. financial consequences When you are elected to be a student trusted, you are also scholarship of $2,500, aah is “something non-Catho- lics are excluded from because they are not able to run for the po- sition at all," said Valencia. ther advantages provided by the position include a letter of commendation from the chair and an ability to take part in board decisions albeit witha non- binding vote. Trustee Peter DeRosa has de- fended the policy arguing they | Ey y ty Roland Cilliers/Metroland HCDSB trustee Peter DeRosa has. defender of a policy that requires student trustees to be Catholic. have an obligation to make deci- sions through a Catholic lens. During the May 4 board meeting, he interrupted the student dele- gate, who was answering his question regarding how the poli- cy removes an opportunity for non-Catholics. “The $2,500 is a consequence of “When you are elected to be a student trustee you are also awarded a scholarship of $2,500, which is something non-Catholics are excluded from because they are not able to run for the position at all.” being able to apply and run for a student trustee. Anything prior to that I would suggest, and again I'mtrying to clarify, non-Catholic students have the same accessi- bility as Catholic students; it's on- ly after you've been voted to siton the board you'd be qualified for the $2,500 grant,” said DeRosa. Other opponents to allowing non-Catholics argue it's not a board decision. According to the Ontario Education Services Cor- poration, a person has to be Ro- man Catholic if running for a ~ student Kaileen Valencia Catholic school board trustee seat. If that rule is applied to stu lent trustee seats the decision would 1 need to be made at a higher level. Support for a change to the board's policy has led to a petition with over 360 signature Valencia quoted “Leviticus 19:33-34 in her delegation: "when a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.” "My non-Catholic peers are not foreigners, but they are treat- ed as such when they are not granted the same opportunities as me and my Catholic peers. Non-Catholic students take the same Catholic religion courses as. me, come to the same school as- semblies, masses and strive just as hard a be active in our board communities and are also Catho- i epee So, how are we rohibiting them from presenting themselves?" said Va. STORY BEHIND THE STO- RY: Over the last few months, the school board has had to respond to calls for what students feel is a more inclusive system. We felt this was another chance to look at the clash between a more mod- ern student body and a tradition- al administration. [i] scan tits cove =, for more local news. A GUIDE TO EATING LOCAL 3:7 Ls et { FOODSTUFFS Specialty ¢ Bulk ¢ Health For a Small Fee/Week participate in this Foodie Feature linking your business or menu to a QR Code! Cell: 289-681-2041 ngibson @starmetrolandmedia.com Limited Space - Book Today!