gay-straight alliance

Students at a Catholic university in Portland are petitioning their school to do something new: Write sexual orientations and gender identity into the school’s non-discrimination policy.

Last week, students with mouths covered in duct tape paraded around the campus of the University of Portland to end what they say has been a legacy of discrimination at the school.

This same conversation is happening at Catholic universities all over the country, as increasingly queer-friendly young people come up against university’s traditional, anti-gay policies. Both Notre Dame and the Catholic University of America have had very public discussions about the role of schools in requiring a strict adherence to Catholic orthodoxy as students on campus pushed to create gay-friendly student groups.

After seeing the headline "Catholic School Board Raises Concerns Over Teaching Homosexuality in School" the other day, I got to thinking that there’s still a lot of confusion about "inclusive" education. Teaching homosexuality!? What exactly does that mean? Here's my take on the question based on the headlines in my home province of Ontario, a supposed bastion of mythic Canadian "tolerance."