Triangle in the Press « The Triangle Program

Triangle Supports EGALE’s launch of myGSA.ca

Rosa Brooks - Triangle Program Student

Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke asked media to shut off their cameras before he broke down during his speech on gay rights and anti-bullying, in front of hundreds of parents, educators and students. Burke on Monday helped launch a new website MyGSA.ca — the first national resource dedicated to helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.. Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke asked media to shut off their cameras before he broke down during his speech on gay rights and anti-bullying, in front of hundreds of parents, educators and students.

Burke on Monday helped launch a new website , MyGSA.ca — the first national resource dedicated to helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

Burke’s son Brendan was 21 when he was killed in a car crash last February — three months after the father-son pair made headlines when it was revealed Brendan was gay.

“We have to get to a point where you can go to school free of fear,” Burke said at the launch at Sutton Place Hotel.

The website was created to protect the human rights of LGBTQ Canadians affected by bullying. It contains resources for youth, including questions and answers about human rights legislation and how to start a gay-straight alliance at schools.

While Burke said he didn’t recall his son being picked on — possibly because of his 6foot stature — he witnessed an incident in high school that angered him.

“I remember the one bullying incident I witnessed in high school, a disabled young man was picking up his books off the floor and someone kicked him as hard as they could,” he said.

Rosa Brooks, an 18-year-old who is enrolled in the Triangle Program, one of three LGBTQ classrooms run by the Toronto District School Board at the Oasis Alternative Secondary School, said the program allowed her to feel safe when she came to school.

“I grew up with two moms, so not only did I battle homophobia as a child, it was harder for me to come out,” she said.

“I really hope that several years down the road, we won’t need a program like Triangle and that we will be accepted wherever we go.”

Article was published by 24 – Toronto , May 18th, 2010

Triangle Teacher in the Metronews

Triangle teacher, Susan Magerman gives her perspective on LGBTQ rights, with respect to youth, in the Metronews:

“Magerman says, “Once they are in a safe and supportive environment, where they no longer have to worry about their safety all the time, they thrive.”"

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Triangle Program’s Positive Spin on Facebook

Anthony Grandy - Teacher

The Ontario College of Teachers magazine, Professionally Speaking, talks to Anthony Grandy about how the Triangle Program uses Facebook in a positive way to connect to at-risk LGBTQ youth.

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Alternative schools are seen as the wave of the future

Toronto school board thinks outside the box

“For instance, the Triangle Program creates a comfortable atmosphere for students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered ….”

A National Post article that looks at the value of the alternative school system in Toronto, using the Triangle Program as a postive example

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Agents of Change

A Globe and Mail article looking at the challenges trans youth face. This piece includes interviews with Triangle Program students.

In Toronto, Triangle was forced to expand its curriculum this year, director Jeffrey White says. Gay and lesbian students usually leave after one or two years, but transgender students still don’t feel safe transferring back into mainstream schools, he says.

Read the article ….