'We're not letting this go': Waterdown students focused on making lasting change
Waterdown District High School students are pleased by the progress they've made in the week since a large protest at the school Oct. 8 - but they are vowing to keep fighting until they've made lasting change.
Co-organizer Taylor Riopelle said she, along with a number of other students, met with HWDSB Superintendent Gerry Smith to discuss how to revamp the dress code. As well, the group plans to meet with WDHS administration and Riopelle and fellow co-organizer Sophie Vivian will act as a delegation at the Oct. 18 school board meeting, where a motion to revamp the dress code will be discussed.
Riopelle said while the progress is great, they won't be satisfied until they make lasting change.
We're not letting this go, we're going to continue fighting this," she said. We're not going to stop even if other people don't care, because it's something we want to see - for new people that are going to come to the school and younger generations that are one day going to get to high school.
I don't want them to have the same sort of environment that I do - we all do - at the school."
Close to 100 students gathered at Memorial Park in Waterdown Oct. 15 to get an update from organizers on their discussions with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and WDHS administration. A week earlier, close to 200 students gathered at a protest, sparked by an announcement made the day prior about appropriate dress" that many students took to be victim shaming in light of recent allegations of sexual assault at the school.
Following the protest, the board announced HWDSB student trustees Deema Abdel Hafeez and Aisha Mahmoud plan to submit a notice of motion at the Oct. 18 board meeting asking trustees to direct staff to remove outdated standards, and develop a new policy/procedure that supports a safe school environment on the principles of an anti-oppressive, non-discriminatory, equitable and inclusive education."
Speaking at the Oct. 15 gathering, Abdel Hafeez said she and Mahmoud have found a lot of policies at the board are outdated, adding while it is sad that it took a protest to potentially make changes, it is positive that a student-led initiative is making change.
While she said they can't promise that the motion will go through, she said it is important for the future of HWDSB students.
This shows that we are listening to our student body and that voices really are valued by the board," she said. Who knows - maybe our board will lead other boards to take on these changes."
HWDSB Ward 15 trustee Penny Deathe offered the students an apology. She said the dress code has been an issue at WDHS for many years.
It's bubbled up in the past, but there are always other issues that come up," she said. So I want to apologize that it took this to get our attention."
In an interview following the gathering, Deathe said she will be seconding the student trustees' motion at the Oct. 18 meeting. While she is loath to make predictions about motions passing, she said she can't imagine it not going through."
I would be very surprised and shocked if it didn't," she said.
However, Deathe said if for some reason the motion fails, she expects the board will still tackle the issue of the dress code. She said currently the dress code is not a board-wide policy, but more of a guideline, so even if trustees voted not to review it she expects the board will still tackle the issue on an operational level.
Co-organizer Katelyn Urbanic said in their very productive" discussions with the superintendent, students suggested there should be more severe punishments for cultural appropriation, as well as no hate speech or discrimination of any sort on clothing.
In addition, Vivian said they want to see an assembly, divided by grade, which will focus on consent, different forms of sexual assault and resources where survivors can find help. She said previously, the school did have an assembly on the topic, but it was only for girls and focused on avoiding being sexually assaulted.
Vivian said they hope the motion will pass at the Oct. 18 meeting and be in place quickly.
We are pretty proud of the change that we've made in the past week and that a lot of people are listening to what we have to say - and that change will be made."
- with files from the Hamilton Spectator