Well put somethingtosay.
No big deal… god… the fact that we are even discussing it anymore is sillly. I mean we would never discuss a native group walking down the street, holding banners and celebrating their diversity… or a african group, holding banners and celebrating their diversity… or any group. Shit that’s what make Canadian amazing, we can celebrate diversity… when we stop, and we start criticizing people for difference, for experiencing their life and they choose, than we are no more than a dictatorship… or american. let people love whomever they love. I’m glad Prince Rupert is more open and accepting, it’s about time, we entered the modern era… i mean, i can understand people not approving, and that is their choice… but to hinder someone elses happiness because you don’t approve is wrong. No one has that right, racism is wrong, prejudice is wrong, agism is wrong, sexism is wrong, and yes, homophobia is wrong. At the end of the day we all human, and deserve consideration. So bravo… to the young people that were in the parade… when i was growing up in Rupert we didn’t have options like that, no groups, nothing… so it’s nice to see some added tolerance and acceptance in Rupert… and nice to see people being respectful about that group, letting them enjoy freedom of expression like we all do. Nice rainbow flag.
“The goth group, the jackass group” (not my words, but someone elses example), the whatever groups… i mean that’s great to have these groups, to be expressive in your youth, but that’s different than having a queer alliance group… i think being queer, gay or lesbian isn’t a passage of growth, it isn’t a phase, and it sure as hell isn’t a time when you decide “hmmm this year i’m going to wear lots and lots of black”… it’s a innate part of who someone is, and who they ALWAYS will be… it isn’t something they will grow out of, or bore of. If only it were that easy… but it’s not… it’s a part of their life forever. So i think it’s important to have a group, a website that can help them become healthy individuals that society can benefit from. Gay people have a lot to offer, if we could only value them, than maybe we could see that. 
people that try to seperate others based on sexual choice are cowards, and they are weak. that goes out to every catholic that says being gay is against god. I’ve worked with hardline catholics that will fight to death over that, and for the way they make kids feel who struggle with this, they should be put to death. if somebody is gay, or has a sexual choice that isn’t mine, that makes them no better or no worse then me. living in Nelson i realized what true tollerance and love for one another is. gay people and strait people just being people, nothing more nothing less, none of this fear mongering about how evil somebody is. i think we should all take a look at catcholics and treat them the way they treat those who are gay…see how quick god shows up to help them.
Why?
Why not.
You also mentioned how “Morality has changed tremendously in society in a very short time” It hasn’t really, it’s been a long time coming. Since the sixties, even earlier it was wrong, it wasn’t heard of- I doubt HIGHLY you’d be able to find something like our QYA here in town, anywhere across Canada and especially the USA. In the seventies, it was still the same people weren’t out. They had the pride parade sure, the first being in 1970, but it wasn’t like this all happened over night, all of this liberation or whatever happened in the 80’s when AIDS was like, the gay disease or whatever and people talked about it whereas now people of all color, age and race. Towns and Cities have been having QYA, GSA, ecter for years, long before Prince Rupert and it’s good, great rather that it’s changed. People can be them, rather then not. Would you like it if Religion wasn’t allowed to be talked about in schools? Or if it wasn’t even socially acceptable, and To say that it’s till strongly acceptable for GLBT, is STRONGLY ignorant. Look at the USA, I don’t think I have to make any points of that?
Now, to get back to what I quoted originally,
Why is it providing something special for the gay and lesbian population:
Do you realise how high the suicide rate is among gay teens?
Gay men are six times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight counterparts and the numbers increase exponentially during the holidays. , 35 percent of gay men and 38 percent of lesbians have considered or attempted suicide. The statistics are even higher among gay teens: The Department of Health study indicates that gay youth are up to six times more likely to attempt suicide than straight teens, and gay teenagers account for up to 30 percent of all teenage suicides in the nation.
Why are they supporting a sexual orientated group in a school?:
They aren’t. I got to PRSS, and I have never once heard on any announcement in the morning, lunch or before home to go to QYA. The teachers don’t mention it unless they are asked. There are posters on the bulletin boards, and the group meeting boards and that’s it.
They support it for the same reason they support sport teams, dance teams and drama
productions!, For the same reason the support any youth event! No one is telling your children to go and be gay, or to go and become transgendered, they’re just giving them some place where there are people that they have something in common with.
To quote Cyndi Lauper, " I’m not going to tell you what to think, I’m going to beg of you, and to HOPE that you DO infact think. "
I agree and if there was a group like that when some of the adults who are not out of the closet were younger maybe they would be out now and wont be afraid and stay in the closet.
I applaud you for helping them out good for you
For your information, I am a member of the PRQYA, and have been since the first meeting. I am an administrator for the aforementioned controvertial website, and I am, coincidentally, a teenage lesbian. And I am wearing my rainbow t-shirt right now.
If you would like to know, the school board decided to host our website because another member and I made a nerve wracking presentation to the board REQUESTING their support, and specifically for them to host a site for us. Thats right, WE ASKED FOR IT. I am sure they would lend thier support to any deserving, legitimate group that asked for it. We told them what the group was about and asked for their formal support. They agreed that a group like ours was long overdue. There are Gay Straight Alliances all over BC, there have been for years. In case you didn’t notice, Rupert is slightly behind the times on things like this.
Why request the school boards support you ask? Well, the formal support of the school board puts a good impression on us, and frankly, it was an attempt at quelling the whispers that we are a “recruitment” club. Bullshit, but it is thought more often than I like to admit. Also, we needed some way to host a site that didn’t cost us money we don’t have.
So, what all of you are wondering is… What is the purpose of the QYA? And why is there no mission statement on this website?
Well, I am basically in charge of the website. And there is not a yet a mission statement on there because… It is a brand new site, and frankly I don’t know what to say that won’t be taken the wrong way, critisized, or judged. I’m sure you understand the amount of thought that has to go into every word that comes from this group. So I will work on something. And hopefully I can come up with something that almost no one can argue with.
Basically the Queer Youth Alliance was started to let kids like me know that they are not alone. There are people out there that are like us, and they can help us to understand what we are going through in coming out as a youth in a small town, and can be there for us when we need help. This is a group of people that will not judge you, or mock you, or call you the names you are so used to hearing every day. Gay people are 6 times more likely to attempt suicide than straight people. And if we can help just one person avoid the temptation, we will have fulfilled our purpose. We want to promote awareness, and combat ignorance. We are a group of supportive youth, youth meaning gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, AND STRAIGHT people, that want to give kids a safe place to go. We spend our meetings socializing, discussing political issues, gay rights, and watching movies.
There are no orgies or drug parties involved, I can assure you.
We Do Not Recruit People! We Are Not A Dating Service! We are not asking you to become homosexual by looking at our posters. And we do not force anyone to be there.
It might interest some to know that the majority of the members are straight. Even in my own group I am a minority.
We are not forcing any ideas down your childrens throats, nor is the school board. The hosting of our website is the extent of the schoolboards involvment. They are the only affiliation shown becuase I havent gotten around to some of the details on the site, the other organisations that support us (Northern Health, Ministry of Children and Family Development, Prince Rupert Teachers’ Union, Options for Sexual Health, and the Over the Rainbow Guild, etc.) will go right under the mission statement. The only way your children would have heard about the QYA is through announcements at the school, (because it is a youth-based group we figured that would be a good place to have a presense), by being friends with one of the member, or by seeing us at the parade. We have posters, to let people know when we meet, just like any other group.
It is not an easy thing coming to a meeting of ours. Some people simply cannot muster the courage to come, for fear of friends (or non-friends) finding out and ridiculing them.
It is a terrifying experience trying to come out in a small town. This group has helped me tremendously with becoming okay with myself.
I am not going to tell you that your beliefs are wrong, that you need to think like me and accept me without reluctance. I am just hoping that I don’t have to ask.
Morality has changed, but change doesn’t happen without purpose. Morality is not an entity unto itself. Morality lives within people, therefore it can only change with the change of people. Progress is necessary to humanity.
I want to close with something Ellen DeGeneres said:
“I was raised around heterosexuals, as all homosexuals are. That’s where us gay people come from - you heterosexuals.”
Just something to think about.
I hope my thoughts were decently coherent, and helpful in understanding just what it is your talking about. I hope not to have offended anyone to badly.
Thank you for reading.
P.S. Thank you for all your help MiG. You’re awesome!
Well said iWin. Maybe you can take part of your response and weave it into your mission statement.
Iwin i back you guy/gals 100 % wish i had help like that growing up, but back then it was very wqrong and still is but todays soceity is actualyl starting to accept homosexuality as okay. but it is still very hard to come out of the closet, I applaud you for having the courage to do so. 
Did I mention mucho thanks to everyone in the community that supports us… and complimented our awesome shirts. haha cuz I meant to.