Catholic School Kids Show Their LGBT Support

More than half of the graduating class at Canada's Vanier Catholic Secondary School wore rainbow socks along with their caps and gowns at their ceremony this past weekend in support of the school’s newly established gay-straight alliance, and it was awesome.

The school has reportedly long held and supported anti-gay views, even describing homosexuality as a "grave disorder” in its official policy. But after recently receiving public backlash from students and parents who questioned why the government was funding a school that teaches discriminatory principles, the Yukon territory finally wised up and essentially told school officials to cut the crap. After their backwards policy was officially removed, students also protested for their right to a gay-straight alliance — and won!

Now, the students are celebrating this big step forward. About 45 of the 81 graduating students demonstrated their continued support by wearing the colorful socks. Liam Finnegan, one of the openly gay students at the school, told CBC News, they “wanted to make a statement saying 'We're not a homophobic school' because a lot of people have that perception, so it was a really cool experience to see that.”

These students seriously deserve a round of applause for having the backbone and determination to take on this grossly hateful policy and standing up for what they believe in. Not only did they manage to get their voices heard and establish an alliance that will help future students get the support these kids didn’t have, but they’ve made their continued advocacy known with a small but meaningful gesture while graduating. Hopefully, their hard work will set a precedent for the school and the progress they were able to make will only continue from here on out.