In celebration of Pride Month, the Pride flag was raised at Highland Secondary School in Comox Friday for the first time in the school’s history.
The flag raising was part of a larger celebration which featured a bake sale, film festival, music and face painting.
“This is my first actual experience in going and actively participating in a Pride event,” said Grade 9 student Autumn Morrell. “It’s important. It’s very much what it represents - pride. It gives pride to the school to show that they’re going and supporting these people, it’s giving pride to the LGBT community, because after years of … facing adversity … they have the chance to be accepted.”
Highland teacher and sponsor teacher of the Gender Equality Alliance Helen Oliphant explained the purpose of the day was to both provide support and create awareness within the school and greater community.
“We thought that since Pride Month starts on a Friday that it would be a good time to have a little bit of a celebration in the school this morning we … asked everyone to come out in support and it went really well.”
Rain Green, a Grade 12 student who has been attending Highland since Grade 8 considers the event “a pretty big deal.”
“As a trans person, (Pride events) didn’t happen much until this year, and I appreciate the fact that it’s happening.”