Protesters speak out against 'sneaky,' 'unfair' process to name Kingsville school

Discontent over the name of a new Kingsville school — and how that name was chosen — prompted dozens of students and community members to come together in protest on Friday.

The student-organized demonstration was in response to the Greater Essex County District School Board's 6-2 vote this week to choose "Erie Migration Academy" for the new regional K-12 school in opening up in September.

Demonstrators carried signs with messages such as "We've been disregarded" and "What about what we want."

Someone dressed as the school's mascot joined the demonstrators but was escorted into the building by police at one point.

The school name was put forward by trustee Julia Burgess, but it was not the shortlist of ideas a naming committee presented to the board, whittled down from more than 600 suggestions.

Addison Dyck and Olivia Rogers are attending Erie Migration Academy in the fall. Now in Grade 11 at Kingsville District High School, they will be part of the new school's first graduating class. They want to see the decision reversed and student voices represented in the selection of a mascot, for example.

"I feel like it was very unfair," said Dyck, who was part of a focus group on the new name. "I mean, our naming committee put in much work and I feel like (trustee) Julia Burgess just kind of completely neglected all of that and ignored all that, and just chose what she wanted."

Burgess told CBC Windsor on Thursday that while the recommendations of the naming committee for the school were heard and considered, the board isn't bound to follow them. 

"It was pretty widely felt across my colleagues, that ... the names that came forward, didn't really reflect what the whole district wanted to have as branding for a brand new school that reflected six prior schools consolidating into one," she said.

She said she can't see the decision being revisited by the board.

Bob Lynch, a women's basketball coach at the high school, came out to support the students. He and others have been critical of the fact the new name does not reflect the school's location in Kinsgville, and he takes issue with the process as well.

"These students are remarkable. And when they say, 'we don't care for that,' somebody has to listen to them. Someone has to listen."

Nicole Ward's daughter set up a petition against the name, but couldn't attend the protest due to illness.

"We had gone to the meeting and they came up with a whole other name that nobody (on the naming committee) voted on, so that was very sneaky," she said.