March 26, 2002

OSHAWA, ONT. - A gay high school student from Oshawa says he's hiring a lawyer to do what the local board of education will not: force his school to let him take a male to the prom.

Marc Hall

Marc Hall, 17, was told by the principal at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School that his 21-year-old boyfriend will not be welcome at the May dance.

To further his case, Hall showed up at Monday night's meeting of the Durham Catholic School Board, along with scores of supporters, ready to plead his case.

But the trustees refused to let Hall speak, since they hadn't been given enough time to amend the meeting's agenda. That incensed one of Hall's supporters, Mike Shields, head of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 22, who demanded that Hall be heard.

Police escort Mike Sheilds out of room

When the board again refused, others added their voices to the tumult, and the police were called. Officers ushered Shields out of the room.

Later, trustees said even if proper notice had been given and Hall was allowed to speak, they would not have changed their minds. They said neither the board nor the school can condone homosexual behavior.

"We are a Catholic school system and we have our rights as Catholics," said Mary Ann Martin, the board's chair. "When someone attends our schools, whether they are Catholics or not, they must follow the rules of our schools.

Mary Ann Martin

"We're not going to cave in, per se, from pressure."

Hall called the board's argument hypocritical. He said that last year, a pregnant teenager was allowed to attend, even though the Church disapproves of premarital sex.

Martin also said the board could deny Hall's request because his boyfriend is 21, and a female that age would also have been barred from the prom.

Hall said he'll next take his fight to the courts. "I'm trying to fight this for everybody else, not just myself," he said. "I don't want anybody else to go through what I had to go through."