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Students join forces to heal old wounds
Students join forces to heal old wounds
Work together after last year's violence
BRENDA BRANSWELL
The Gazette
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
For a week last October, two north-end high schools found themselves under an unwanted media microscope over a conflict between their students.
The details were disturbing - a racial slur, a swarming attack in retaliation, smashed school windows and a lockdown at one of the schools.
If you didn't hear or read about the incident, for a short time you could see video of the nasty attack on YouTube.
"We were shocked at the negative portrayal of both our schools in the community," said Joey Gendron, 17, student council president at Lester B. Pearson High School.
"We felt that what was being circulated about both schools was not an accurate representation of reality," Gendron said.
He and his counterpart at nearby École secondaire Henri Bourassa tried to set the record straight yesterday as they announced - flanked by officials from both schools - several joint projects to create a rapprochement between students.
The students came up with initiatives.
They designed and painted a common mural in both buildings that illustrates the bridge-building they want to undertake. They created a joint newspaper and a declaration of their desire to work together to build a "durable bond."
Student leaders also organized a one-day exchange so four students from each school could experience life in the other school.
"We decided to put in place concrete actions to destroy the false perception that some might have now of our schools," said Carol-Ann Bellefeuille, 17, student council president at École secondaire Henri Bourassa.
Bellefeuille said they realized that too few links existed between the schools, which are a short distance apart.
The schools have different realities and cultures, "but we believe it is entirely possible to build bridges between them so they know each other and cooperate more in their community," she said.
About 70 per cent of Lester B. Pearson students come from Rivière des Prairies, a more affluent area. The vast majority of students at the English-language high school are of Italian origin. Students at French-language École secondaire Henri Bourassa come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds in Montreal North, an economically disadvantaged area.
The incident began when a Lester B. Pearson student uttered a racial slur at a local fast-food restaurant to a group of mostly black students from Henri Bourassa. The girl claimed she did so after being hit with ice cubes.
On her way back to school, the girl was swarmed. The video on YouTube showed two white 14-year-old girls from Pearson being kicked and punched repeatedly. Most of attackers were black, judging from the video. Four female students from Henri Bourassa were subsequently charged with assault.
Gendron called it an isolated incident. Bellefeuille sees it as an adolescent problem that could have happened between two English schools or two French ones.
With so many students attending the two schools, Lester B. Pearson principal Terrence Quinn suggested, it was unrealistic to expect there would never be a negative exchange: "You're dealing with young people. There may be a situation that will arise.
"I will not characterize - at any time - there to be a problem of race or language between the two schools."
Quinn said staff members told students they wanted them to work together on projects that would demonstrate to the public "that there is a sense of community existing between the two schools."
Jean-François Bouchard, the principal of Henri Bourassa, said the students knew how to transform a "student problem into a student solution."
Student leaders from both schools met, and things took off after the Christmas break.
Also announced yesterday was a $2,000 charitable donation from students at both schools to Projet Animation du Milieu Urbain, which offers sports, cultural and recreational activities to young people in Montreal North.
Gendron said there is a perception among some Lester B. Pearson High students that Henri Bourassa has troublemakers. "But really they're not - they're there to learn, they are students just like us," he said, calling it a really good school.
Gendron went to Henri Bourassa for a day as part of the student exchange, and told his friends: "It's not what you'd expect. Kids are warm.
"It was an amazing experience."
bbranswell@thegazette.canwest.com
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• Students join forces to heal old wounds
• Students reaching out is an example for all
• SI: Faces in the Crowd
Lester B. Pearson High School 11575 P.M. Favier, Montreal North, Quebec H1G 6E5
(514) 328-4442 (514) 328-4443 (FAX) lesterbpearson@emsb.qc.ca
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