Thousands have signed a petition urging a Sydney Catholic school to allow same-sex couples to attend an end-of-year formal together.
Students at all-girls St Ursula’s College in Kingsgrove, southern Sydney, are raising their voices against a controversial policy that prevents same-sex couples from attending their school formal together.
A concerned student, Abbie Frankland initiated a Change.org petition and labelled the policy “discriminatory”.
In her petition, Ms Frankland expressed the sentiments of the LGBTQ+ community at the school.
“My girlfriend and I, along with many other students at St. Ursula’s in Kingsgrove NSW, Australia, have been eagerly awaiting the school formal for months,” she wrote.
“We’ve purchased non-refundable tickets and outfits in anticipation of this event. However, we’ve recently discovered that the school does not allow same-sex couples to attend the formal together.”
The policy also ignited a fire within the student body to push for change.
“In Australia, 61.6 per cent of people voted ‘Yes’ in a national survey on marriage equality, showing widespread support for LGBTQ+ rights across the country,” Ms Frankland added, referencing the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
“Yet, despite this clear public sentiment towards inclusivity and acceptance, schools like St Ursula’s continue to uphold discriminatory policies.”
The petition, which has so far gathered almost 2000 signatures. It calls for the school to realign itself with the broader values of inclusivity and equality. It calls on St Ursula’s to permit all students, regardless of sexual orientation, to bring their chosen partner to the school formal.
“By signing this petition, you’re standing up against discrimination and supporting equal rights for all students at St Ursula’s School in Kingsgrove, NSW, Australia,” Ms Frankland said.
This petition has struck a chord within the school and with advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, who view it as an opportunity for the institution to take a step toward greater inclusivity and acceptance.
Parents are among those to aim for the policy, saying it was an unnecessary stress on students amid their HSC exam period.
“It’s totally taken the kids’ focus off the HSC,” a mother told Ben Fordham Live on 2GB.
The mother said her daughter planned to take another girl to the formal.
“She automatically was upset - crying in the car,” she said.
Fordham pointed out that the woman’s 18-year-old daughter could legally marry a woman but not take one to her formal.
Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown told news.com.au thata school formal should be a “rite of passage” for all Australian students and called for an overhaul of state and federal laws.
“Marring this personal milestone with silly prejudice and outdated rules helps nobody, protects nothing and instead ruins what should be a joyous step in a young person’s journey to adulthood,” she said.
“Unfortunately, incidents like this happen around the country because of exemptions in federal and NSW law that allow religious schools to discriminate against their own students because of their sexual orientation. “It’s time for these laws to reflect what the vast majority of Australians already believe, including people of faith, that people should not be punished for who they love or who they are.”
Sarah Minns, who is the sister of NSW Premier Chris Minns and is believed to have links to the school, was among the those who signed on.
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“Excluding people based on sexual orientation does not model Christ-like love or acceptance,” she noted on the petition.
St Ursula’s College has been contacted for comment.
More to come …
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