The suspension of five Queen’s Royal College (QRC) students continues to engage the attention of social activists and LGBTQI groups which aren’t convinced punishment is the right way to address the issue.
The students were suspended after a video of them arguing about sexual orientation and preference went viral. In the video, several students were heard using obscene language as well as derogatory terms.
Minister of Education Anthony Garcia confirmed that the school had suspended the students mainly on the basis of the language used in the clip.
The student who filmed the clip, however, faced additional sanction for violating the school’s policy on the use of a mobile phone on the school compound.
That student also faces the possibility of being barred from sporting activities, his graduation and a Sixth Form recommendation as he may have brought the college into disrepute by posting the video.
However, Kennedy Everett Maraj, chief administrative officer of the Silver Lining Foundation, believes punishing the boys via suspension will simply allow for a repeat of similar events.
“The school should be commended for their swift action and we hope they continue to take this positive stance as it relates to incidents involving homophobia and discrimination of any kind. But we encourage them that suspension alone doesn’t solve the problem. If you don’t start fostering a culture of respect and acceptance for persons of all backgrounds and identities you are not creating a real safe space for all students which they do deserve,” Maraj said.
“This incident should act as a teachable moment for educators and society at large to finally confront issues relating to what can happen when homophobia and discrimination are left unchecked. As seen in the video, it results in bullying and harassment of our nation’s youths inside the relative safety of their classrooms.”
The group has done work with educators through the Safer Schools: Managing Diverse Classrooms Workshop series.
In that project, Kennedy explained: “We addressed the issue of bullying through a gendered lens to show that the majority of what constitutes as bullying stems from negative misconceptions children have relating to ideas and beliefs about gender and sexuality.”
QRC teachers were involved in the programme.
In a report done following the workshop, it was revealed that 28 per cent of students engaged in verbal bullying based on a person’s perceived sexual orientation or gender expression.
“Learning should not be harmful,it should be empowering. Let that be the message,” he said.