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Penticton  

Rainbow crosswalk coming

The School District 67 board has voted unanimously to give a group of Penticton Secondary School students permission to paint crosswalks in their parking lot with rainbow colours.

The board made the decision at a meeting Friday morning, after hearing from a group of passionate young people at the school who wanted to do the painting to express respect and acceptance.

"It was a very powerful presentation, and I think it's a marvellous idea," said trustee Bill Bidlake.

Lesley Lacroix, a history teacher at the high school, said it was students in her Grade 12 history class who came up with the idea after the Orlando shootings.

"It was a conversation on the Monday morning after the shootings, and it was just an expression by a lot of them of anger, sadness and frustration, so it just kind of came from there," she said.

After speaking more with one student in particular, the decision was made to present the idea of painting the crosswalks to the board.

Lacroix contacted them and after learning they wouldn't be meeting again until September, she invited them to her classroom for a presentation.

Three board members and Alan Stel, the principal of the high school, attended at really short notice.

"Students gave the presentation, highlighting negative experiences of students in the LGBTQ community and the importance of creating a really safe open culture at Pen-Hi," she said.

Jozsef Varga, one of those giving the presentation, said he was very happy with the board's unanimous approval.

"I think it will send a message to all visiting guests and students coming into our school that we are a school that doesn't support homophobia," he said.

The next step now that the board has voted will be to determine the logistics of when the project can be done.

Lacroix said hopefully it would be early this summer.



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