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Marai sees irony in GSA ban reversal by Catholic boardBy Dominik Kurekple, he said.OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFFMarai graduated from a Halton CatholicI was never the person who broughthigh school in 2006. Marai is not sureup the subject whatsoever.I didntOakvilles Halton Catholic Districtwhether he would have joined a GSA if hepush for it.School Board trustee Paul Marai sees ironyhad the option while he was in highin the root cause of what compelled theschool. At the time, it wasnt something hePaul Marai, Halton Catholic schoolboard to overturn its ban on Gay-Straightthought about, he said.trustee Alliances (GSAs).However, the visibility of these clubsThe 22-year-old trustee, who is gay, wit-would have allowed me to accept who I amnessed what he calls a media storm froma lot sooner and that is integral to a stu-the eye of the storm as soon as he begandents feeling to be accepted in a schoolhis first term on the board this December.community, he said.said. At that point it didnt matter if he wasHowever, Marai said he has only beenIf they were visible when I was a stu-gay or not he wanted to do the best jobreacting to others throughout the dura-dent, I would have known there were otherto represent his community.tion of the evolving story.people like me and I shouldnt have everWhen the calls from community mem-In December, a story was originallyfelt uncomfortable to at least talk withbers started coming in to overturn thepublished by LifeSiteNews.com, a Catholicpeople about how Im feeling.GSA ban, Marai said it was important fornews agency, saying he was a gay activistHe said the reversal of the ban is impor-him to take a leadership role to representPaul Maraiand threatened the boards Equity andtant to todays students because it will helpthe community, which he did.Inclusive Education policy, which bannedpublication.them feel more comfortable while growingOn Jan. 18 the board overturned theGay-Straight Alliances. Then a pro-gayMarai said when he first joined theup in their community.ban with an interim policy.publication, Xtra, contacted the boardboard he did not make any attempts toHe also points out that the whole GSAMarai said reversing the ban is a victorychair Alice Anne LeMay about the ban, atchange the policy.discussion overshadowed what the schoolfor the students. which time she said GSAs are not permit-I was never the person who brought upboard should be talking about. For him theThe boards decision improves Haltonsted in the schools just as hate groups, suchthe subject whatsoever. I didnt push fordiscussion should be about technology.image because to outsiders, including theas Nazi groups, are not permitted.it, he said.In his election campaign he pledged tointernational community, the ban cast theFrom there the media storm took off.However, after the comments wereimprove technology in the school system,region in a negative light. I find it ironic that these very individ-made by LeMay, which he believes werewhich he still aims to do and has plans toHowever, Halton is now seen as anuals who agree with this ban and wanted totaken out of context, the community gotbegin that right away.accepting and progressive community.stop this from happening, it was theirinvolved.Thats what I want to talk about for theIn the end, Im glad we reversed thetargeting of me, which blew this up in theI got 2,000 e-mails in my e-mail box.next year and hopefully Ill get some sup-ban and, quite frankly, I made Halton lookfirst place, he said of the LifeSiteNewsSo, obviously, then you have to act, Maraiport for that, he said.a little bit better in the eyes of a lot of peo-JANUARY 11 FEBRUARY 102011LUNCH $15 DINNER $25AppetizersAppetizersSavoy Cabbage Wrap Filled with Veal & Red Lentil, Barley & Bean SaladProvolone Cheese. Poached in a Cherryon a Bed of Greens Tomato SauceORORDaily Soup Creation Caesar SaladORWinter Salad Baby Spinach, Sweet GoldenORand Red Beets, Crumbled Goats Cheese & Chefs Daily Soup CreationCandied Pecans. With a Honey & Balsamic VinaigretteEntreesEntreesTrio of Pork Scaloppine California Cut Striploin with a WildPanoramamushroom Sauce. Served with a Twice Baked(Mushroom Sauce, Pizzaiola Sauce)Potato, Rapini and Grilled Peppers& Peppercorn SauceORStuffed Sole Filled with Salmon Mousse ORTopped with a Lemon and Herb Sauce.Pan Seared Ocean Perch in a Lemon,Served with Basmati Rice & Market FreshLime, Garlic Herb SauceVegetablesORORStrozzapreti Pasta (Hand Made FusilliPenne with Roasted Italian SausagePasta) Served with Barese Sausage, FreshTomatoes & Zucchini in a Mascarpone Cream SauceDessertChocolate Chip, Amaretto Semifreddo with DessertCaramel SauceWarm Apple & Walnut Butter TartServedwithVanilla GelatoOrORItalian Bread PuddingFresh Fruit Cocktail$25.00 pp Taxes & Gratuities Not Included$25.00 pp Taxes & Gratuities Not Includedwww.oakvillebeaver.com OAKVILLE BEAVERThursday, January 27, 2011 10