Students make pitch for rainbow crosswalk in N.L. town that rejected it

Three teenagers from Indian River High School’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance made presentations to Springdale town council on Monday evening, hoping to convince councillors to reverse an earlier decision against the proposal. (Shutterstock)

SPRINGDALE, N.L. —  A students group has made another pitch to a Newfoundland town council to allow a rainbow crosswalk to be painted in their small community after councillors initially rejected the idea, sparking a province-wide debate over the issue.

Three teenagers from Indian River High School’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance made presentations to Springdale town council on Monday evening, hoping to convince councillors to reverse an earlier decision against the proposal.

Christina Pelley, one of the group’s teacher sponsors, said council made no decision after the three girls talked about everything from what their group is and statistics on mental health and LGBTQ youth, to what a rainbow crosswalk represents.

“They did a fantastic job and whatever happens, it’s a positive for those girls and for the entire group,” she said Tuesday. “There are a lot of conversations that have been started —  important conversations that will keep going no matter what the result is, whether we get our rainbow crosswalk or not.”

Councillors didn’t vote on the material that was presented.

Lorinda Goudie, administrative assistant for the Springdale town council, said Tuesday there is no follow-up council meeting planned at this time.

She said it’s not known if or when the council may vote again on the crosswalk.

The mayor and other councillors were not immediately available Tuesday for comment.

Earlier this month, the council voted four to three against painting the crosswalk —  something that’s been done across the country as a symbol of inclusion and support for the LGBTQ community.

The result prompted prominent Newfoundlanders to criticize the council for rejecting the rainbow, and offer their support to people in the LGBTQ community.

“If you’re a LGBTQ kid in Springdale, please know that there are a whole lot of people in Newfoundland and Labrador that support you,” tweeted comedian Mark Critch, anchor of CBC’s “This Hour Has 22 Minutes.”

“Inclusion never divides. Your mayor is being a tool. You’re awesome.”

Ruth Cameron, another teacher sponsor and vice-principal of the school, said they are getting a lot of support in Springdale for the crosswalk, which they hoped would run between the school and the local stadium.

She said the group has also offered to raise funds to create the colourful crosswalk, but that they wouldn’t want to infringe on union jobs to do it.

“One of our mandates as a group is to try to educate more people about some of the issues around this and that people feel safe and don’t feel alone, and that’s something that’s coming out of this,” she said of the alliance, which has about 25 core members and was started in 2014.

Ryan Reid, who has been an advocate in Springdale for the crosswalk, said it demonstrates the importance of inclusiveness and acceptance in the community and within the school.