The panellists on Sunday night’s The Project were left stunned after hearing about the “inhumane” contract a Brisbane Christian school asked parents to sign.
The Project panellists have taken aim at the “horrible” actions of a Brisbane Christian school, after it came under fire for requiring parents to sign a contract that allows students to be expelled for their gender identity.
Citipointe Christian College in Carindale sent out an updated enrolment contract for parents to sign ahead of students returning to school.
The contract states the school can terminate a child’s enrolment if they do not identify with their birth gender.
The contract has sparked major outrage, with more than 32,400 people signing a Change.org petition calling for the changes to the document to be reversed.
After hearing from former students at the school, The Project panellist Rachel Corbett branded the whole situation “heartbreaking” and “unfair”.
“When are we going to get it through our heads, that you cannot tell people they cannot be who they are?” she said.
She said the situation was “horrible” but said she would rather see these beliefs written down in black and white so there is no mistaking the school’s stance on these important issues.
“Then you can start to actively fight against it because you know it is written down as opposed to something that is under the radar that you can’t bring out into the light this way,” Corbett said.
“It is horrible and it’s hurtful, but at least we can fight back on it.”
Co-host Hamish Macdonald then pointed out that this is likely a response to the controversial religious freedom bill that the Federal government is attempting to push through parliament.
“The promise all along from our political leaders has been this won’t harm, this won’t target individual students,” he said.
“This school clearly is responding to the legislation that the government is trying to drive through.”
Former students speak out
Emmy Leo, a former student at Citipointe Christian College, told The Project that they believe an incident that occurred while they were at school spurred on the controversial changes to the enrolment contract.
“I had planned to wear a dress to the formal. They told me that I would be ruining everyone else’s night by showing up in a dress,” Emmy said.
“I do believe that I may have been a catalyst in pushing that forward, just because I spoke out against the school. They wanted to prevent anyone like me from doing anything like that ever again.”
Emmy branded the contract as “discrimination against queer people and just blatant disrespect for anyone who is different”.
The contract notes the bible ties gender identity to biological sex and does not make a distinction between gender and biological sex.
“Whilst each student is individually valued and equally encouraged to pursue opportunities in both academic and co-curricular activities, I/we agree that, where distinctions are made between male and female (inclusive of, but not limited to, for example, uniforms, presentation, terminology, use of facilities and amenities, participation in sporting events and accommodation) such distinctions will be applied on the basis of the individual’s biological sex,” the contract states.
“The Parents acknowledge and accept that, should I/we not share the college’s commitment to fostering these fundamental doctrinal precepts, this will constitute a serious departure from the religious precepts upon which Citipointe Christian College is based and will afford Citipointe Christian College the right to exclude a student from the College who no longer adheres to the College’s doctrinal precepts including those as to biological sex …”
The document also brands homosexuality “sinful, offensive and destructive”, while also lumping it into the same category as paedophilia and incest.
“We believe that any form of sexual immortality (including but not limited to; adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bisexual act, incest, paedophilia and pornography) is sinful and offensive to God and is destructive to human relationships and society,” the school document states.
The contract notes that marriage and sexual intimacy should only be between a biological man and woman.
The document also outlines the school’s anti-abortion and anti-euthanasia stance.
“We believe that life is created at conception. We believe that every life is sacred and every person has a right to life from the first moment of conception through to the natural end of life,” the document reads.
“To take life within the womb or the hasten the end of life through euthanasia is against the word of God.”
‘Absolutely horrible’: Emotional on air response
Felicity, another former student at the school, also spoke to The Project, telling the program she was in “utter shock” after initially reading the contract.
“I was shocked at first, but then when you think about (it), not fully surprised because they were already upholding these beliefs. I just never believed that they would actually have it in writing and make the parents of these children sign it,” she said.
“To me that is the shocking part … the actual beliefs do not come across as a surprise to me at all.”
Felicity, who is queer identifying, became emotional while speaking with The Project co-host, Hamish Macdonald and describing the impact this would have on the mental health of many of the current students.
“I think some of them would be feeling absolutely horrible. From being at that school, just the way that some of these kids are treated is absolutely horrible,” she said.
“It breaks my heart, honestly. Sorry, I told myself I wouldn’t get emotional, but it is something that just means so much to me and I know how much it can mean to a young person hearing those words.
“To be told you are not loved, not worthy, not accepted and not safe in a school environment is so appalling. That is why I am doing what I can to stand up for them and be their voice.”
Felicity believes the contract changes could be an attempt to get queer identifying students to leave the school.
“I reckon they’re like ‘if we can scare them off with this contract, they will no longer exist in our school, it’s not a problem we have to deal with’. Which is a horrible thing to think, because no matter how many contracts they put out, there will always be queer students in their school,” she said.
“You can’t just try to cull a portion of students because of who they are. That’s just ridiculous.”
The former student recalled how she would have to put on a “facade” while at the school.
“As soon as you walked into a classroom, you walked into an assembly, you immediately put back on your facade. You pretended to not be who you were, you kept quiet,” she said.
Thousands sign petition against the school
The contract has sparked outrage since coming to light, with a Change.org petition started by Bethany Lau rapidly gaining support.
“Citipointe is using their religious beliefs to openly discriminate against queer and trans students, as well as threatening to take away their education,” the petition states.
“Sign the petition to show Citipointe that we will not stand for such blatant transphobia and homophobia.”
Ms Lau told The Courier Mail she started the contact to stand up for queer and trans children who are going to be made to feel “less than human” because of this contract.
“I hope they feel less alone and they know that there are lots of people on their side and I ultimately hope that Citipointe recalls the amendment to their contract because it is inhumane,” she said.
Citipointe Christian College Principal, Pastor Brian Mulheran released a statement on Saturday night saying the school has always held these Christian beliefs and they were trying to be “fair and transparent to everyone in our community” by making them clear in the enrolment contract.
“Citipointe does not judge students on their sexuality or gender identity and we would not make a decision about their enrolment in the College simply on that basis.”
However, Mr Mulheran’s statement appears contradictory with the contract, which clearly states the school has the right to “exclude a student from the College who no longer adheres to the College’s doctrinal precepts” – which includes those around biological sex.
The principal went on to claim that the school “unequivocally” loves and respects all people “regardless of their lifestyle and choices, even if those choices are different to our beliefs and practice”.
Originally published as The Project panellist stunned by Qld Christian school’s ‘horrible’ enrolment contract
For all the latest Lifestyle News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
