Students at Leaside High School have held a Purple Day event in support of diversity. It was sparked by what are said to be sexist remarks on social media by a classmate. The offending words are not reported. Grade 12 student Jenna Jackson was among those who responded and she told City News that the context of the remarks was the Women’s March and were related to Donald Trump. “We wanted to fight back and stand up for what we thought was right. So, in a way it was a good thing that happened because it really brought everyone together,” she said. Barry H. Samuel of Inside Out Fitness was one of a number of businesses which showed purple on their premises to support the event. The students plan to take a petition to the Toronto school board and City Hall in the hope of creating a non-tolerance policy. Purple Day is also an event held in March which was started in 2008 and is intended to raise awareness of epilepsy.
