*Text of the cross: We demand that this symbol no longer represents the silencing and erasing of queer students attending Catholic schools around the world, and rather provides a space where individuals feel loved, supported, and welcomed schools and that these communities encourage coversations regarding identity and diversity so as to ensure that not one more queer kid grows up in love.
To the administration and staff of St. Ignatius College Prep:
Along with this cross we write this manifesto on behalf of queer faculty and staff, and any queer or questioning student who roams your halls like we did. I write this manifesto because you know damn well that your administration does not give a shit about queer people: eliminating support groups and public clubs related to LGBT matters, removing the word “gay,” “queer,” or “LGBT” from any kind of educational and religious discourse, and even firing your dedicated staff when their gayness becomes known to the student body. Your proud Jesuit mission of “Men and Women for Others” doesn’t mean shit when you don’t include queer people in your mission, because “that’s what the Catholic Church would do.” A change is long overdue.
Here are our other demands:
WE DEMAND fundamental changes to your school policy and treatment of LGBT people.
WE DEMAND that rhetoric like this be removed from your school and be replaced with a more sensitive way to address LGBT people.
WE DEMAND you add sexual orientation and gender identity to your non-discrimination policy.
WE DEMAND that the support group be reinstated, and that an LGBT club can publicly meet on school grounds.
WE WILL NOT TOLERATE this blatant discrimination that has ruined lives any longer.
Sincerely,
The queer community of St. Ignatius College Prep
Process Notes: I was very much inspired by Layli Longsoldier’s formatting of some of her poetry in Whereas to format this manifesto; I used a demand and shaped it in the form of the cross, and this creates a focused and interactive response in the readers. Something I struggled with in this piece was trying not to keep repeating the issues I bring up in previous pieces in an attempt to avoid being too repetitive.