Last week The Chief published the article Squamish schools ending field trips to America, which ended up to be quite controversial and drew emotional comments on social media.
Like many schools in other Canadian cities, Squamish’s school district made the decision in response to President Donald Trump’s attempt to band immigrants from several predominantly Muslim countries from the U.S. The school districts worry some Canadian students would be unfairly barred from crossing the border.
“Teachers must care for all of our students, of course, while U.S. border security now targets certain family backgrounds, threatening to turn some children away,” the president of the Sea to Sky Teacher’s Association told The Chief.
A lively and sometimes emotional discussion took place after we posted the article on Facebook – and some responses said it is not a newsworthy topic or went even further to say that this is fear mongering.
But we believe this is news and, since we found out about the decision, we don’t want to keep it from our readers.
In the past, dozens of Squamish students, including some in band class, have gone on field trips to the U.S., but not anymore. What used to be an exciting part of the school year has now been cancelled indefinitely. It’s these students and parents who will want to know that their annual international trip is no more.
The decision by the school board is newsworthy because it also reflects how the political landscape outside Squamish still affects our community. Some of us may be sick of hearing about Trump’s immigration ban on the news – but this time it does impact us indirectly through the school board’s decision to end field trips south of the border.
It’s the uncertainty at the border and singling out students due to their heritage that worries the school board and some parents. We shouldn’t ignore this and, yes, it is newsworthy.
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