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HB NEWS POLICY WOULD HURT FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS: STUDENT TRUSTEE Continued from page 3 abortion services and em- bryonic stem cell research. Known as the "Sanctity of Life" motion, this was the second time in four months Karabela attempt- ed to implement the policy. delegations that included parents, a current student, a physician and a reverend presented in op- position to the motion. There were no delegations in support of Karabela's motio! ‘Trustee Tim O'Brien ul- timately voted in favour of the motion but did not speak in favour of it during debate. Student Kirsten Kelly rgued that restricting charity work to only groups that people agree withis contrary to Catholic teachings. “I think that this direct- ly contradicts Catholic val- ues that we were taught from a young age, that we should help everyone re- gardless. You can't just say, ‘Oh, I'm go’ help this person because they follow the same values as me.’ That's redundant and con- tradictory," said Kelly. The motion stated that no school fundraising ef- forts could be directed to an organization or its sub- sidiaries, affiliates or asso- ciates that in any way sup- ports or is involved with “Catholics have a moral duty to defend and protect the sanctity of life.” - trustee Helena Karahela under that label include Toronto' 's Hospital for Sick Kar: rgued that they have a duty to ensure not a single dollar of the board's fundraising go to- rd organizations that don't uphold the sacred- ness of life. "Catholics have a moral duty to defend and protect the sanctity of life. As soci- ety's morals erode further away from our Judeo- Christian foundations, it is ever more @ important to be vigilant sure that donations from HCDSB go to organizations that uphold ine sanctity of fe. This motion does not resirict charity. it ‘prioritiz- charity doesn't kill,” said Karabela. The "Sanctity of Life" policy original ssed in February, 2018. It led to stu- dent protests, a court case against the board, months of debate and even condem- nation from ¢ a former due cation was ‘itimately. Sched wy trustees later that year. Student trustee Katie Bowie argued that such a policy could put an end to well-liked and ongoing stu- dents campaigns in sup- port of organizations like the Canadian Cancer Soci- ety. "Our students care about these causes. It's in- credibly important to them and the work that they do. Its an opportunity for them a use nat oe aes to ao. od ia in eis community. So, I can say with certainty that stu- dents are unequivocally opposed to this motion and that it is not in the best in- terest of their schoo) expe- riences," said B Karabela referred tothe Graham Paine/Metroland ig ree Patrick Murphy was among those who voted against the Sanctity of Life fundrai HCDSB's graduate expec- tations document in her ar- ent. “One of our graduate ex- pectations is to form a stu- dent who, quote: 'that gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice and the sa- credness of human life’. The sanctity of life recog. nized from conception natural death is a tenet of our Catholic faith and is © a Fy 3 a 3 i Zz non-negotiable,” Karabela said. istee Patrick Mur- phy, questioned the motiva- z tion behind bringing such amotion to the board table 2 once again. stu- 5 dents raise ‘none for TIU- 33 merous vetted charities 2 and there is no evidence § 8 the board is raising funds intentionally to support abortion. Karabela said she decid- ed to bring this motion for- now because, "I can, and I represent stakehold- ers.” The motion was defeat- ed by a five-to-two vote with trustees Peter DeRo- cessfully voting against the motion. Karabela and O'Brien voted in favour. The three student trust- ees also voted against the motion. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With a proposed return to the "Sanctity of Life” policy coming before the Halton Catholic Dis- trict School Board, we wanted to share how stu- dents and trustees feel about the issue that's been a source of emotionally charged debate for years. ‘SCAN THIS CODE for more local eordyouy