A sociologist at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay will talk next week about his experiences with bullying when he attended Highland Secondary School and what he has learned since then about homophobic bullying.

On April 20 from 7 to 9:00 p.m., Gerald Walton will present an engaging and provocative talk called 鈥淲hat I learned from Daisy: Reclaiming schools from homophobic bullying.鈥�

It's sponsored by the Comox United Church, which welcomes and embraces gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, the 'queer community' and others marginalized by society.

The presentation will take place at Highland Secondary School in Comox in the multipurpose room. An open mic question and answer will follow the presentation.

Walton鈥檚 doctoral research, which he completed in 2006, focused on safe schools policies in B.C. and how and why the word 鈥渉omophobia鈥� is rarely mentioned in them. From his personal experience and research, Walton argues that strategies to make schools safer must include educating about homophobia, otherwise their main purpose is to give the impression to parents that schools are safe.

School District 71 has become a recent exception, having passed a comprehensive policy on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues and homophobic bullying.

Walton will highlight what he has learned about gender and sexuality since graduating in 1981 and why homophobia, a persistent form of bullying, continues to be a topic that most school boards avoid.

He has published and spoken widely on gender variance, sexuality, and homophobia in schools and society. An outspoken critic of educational policy and even most of the research on bullying, Walton argues strongly that strategies to enhance safety in schools must recognize and grapple with difference on the basis of gender identity and sexuality, among other forms of difference.

鈥� Comox United Church