Catholic school suspends student for distributing letter supporting modesty

AJAX, Ontario, March 5, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A grade 12 student at a Catholic high school in Ontario was suspended in February after handing out a letter containing his thoughts on the need for greater modesty in his school.

“[R]eal attractiveness doesn’t come from wearing the latest fashion, and it doesn’t come from being scantily clad in public, or putting on make-up, or having a pretty face, or a nice body,” wrote Paul Gomille, 17, in his Valentine’s Day letter addressed to all women, which he handed out at Archbishop Denis O’Connor high school in Ajax, Ontario during lunch hour.

“[R]eal attractiveness comes from having a certain dignity,” he continued. “It comes from having class. It comes from being true to yourself, being yourself, and being comfortable in your own skin. This message is for all young women within the sound of my voice and beyond. You’re all beautiful. You all have inner beauty AND outer beauty.”

When Gomille first showed his letter to the principal, Mrs. Donna Modeste, he said that she was “pretty thrilled about it” and planned to have him read it at an upcoming assembly. School officials who vetted Gomille’s letter, however, told the young man that he would have to make some changes before delivering his message.

School officials reportedly objected to a passage in the letter where Gomille indicated who the letter was directed to.

“The people this message concerns are the young women of this school, and of the world. In particular, it concerns the silent ones, the intelligent ones, the ones that don’t talk about people behind their backs, the ones that guys don’t flock to in droves, the ones that don’t dress in revealing clothing, the ones who would love to be in love, and the ones that are continually disappointed in their appearance because the only thing they have to compare themselves to are the women that have been put on pedestals by our society. This message also concerns those of you who may consider yourselves the so called ‘opposite’ to the demographic I just described. The ones who do dress in revealing clothing, and the ones who try to fit in with the crowd.”

Gomille refused to alter his letter, arguing that a revision would dilute his message. As a consequence, the young man was forbidden to read the speech.

But Gomille, not to be deterred, photocopied his speech in its original form, and he and his friends distributed 136 copies to classmates in the Cafeteria during lunch hour.

Within hours, Gomille was brought to the principal’s office and suspended for two days for “opposition to authority.” He served the suspension February 15th and 16th.

The incident has sparked a national discussion. In a scathing editorial in The Toronto Star yesterday Heather Mallick called Gomille a “controlling man” for his message of “nonsense.” “Keep your advice to yourself, preacher. Trust me, girls like that in a boy,” she wrote.

But Matt Gurney wondered last Friday in the National Post what exactly was offensive about Gomille’s message to his female peers.

“Mr. Gomille has his opinions, but they aren’t insulting, racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic or even indelicately expressed. No specific students are named, no one is harassed or bullied. Even in our Zero Tolerance era, what did Mr. Gomille write that was intolerant? Indeed, his message, slightly tweaked, could be slotted directly into a Go Girls! self-esteem brochure without seeming out of place.”

Even Lesbian Kathleen Wynne, the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs, chimed in on Twitter on Friday that she thought that “17-year-old Paul Gomille was trying to start an important conversation at his high school.”

News of Gomille’s suspension incited fellow students to launch a protest on Tmblr, Twitter and Facebook. A “Free Paul” petition was signed by over 230 people.

“It was a great letter, pointing out to girls that they don’t need to dress like sluts to get the attention of guys. […] Just because someone wanted to be a gentleman, he got suspended,” wrote one student on Tmblr.

A source in Ajax told LifeSiteNews that students were receiving detentions from school authorities for speaking about Gomille’s suspension to media.

Gomille’s parents reportedly intend to appeal the suspension, arguing that their son did not deserve such a severe punishment for handing out a positive message.

“I wrote it just because I had the inspiration to and I felt it was a message that had to be said,” said Gomille to the News Advertiser.

Could I please have your attention for a few moments? I guarantee you won’t regret listening to what I have to say. You definitely won’t regret hearing this in your life time, especially from a man of dignity. It’s an idea that I have held close to my heart even before the kilt controversy arose in the media. This message is not meant to address the kilt controversy directly by any means, but rather, this message is a general and all-encompassing statement. It is a message about the qualities that really matter in a woman, and what really makes a woman attractive. Although this speech has some relevance to the way women dress and present themselves nowadays, the message in this speech goes far beyond one’s preferences, or feelings of pressure, as it relates to the way they dress, and it goes far beyond any concept of modernity. It strikes at the very core of humanity itself, in an attempt to make a revelation of truth apparent to all of you, with awe inspiring certainty. If you read this, and receive anything less than a feeling of absolution from it, then I have committed a grave sin, a sin against myself and a sin against all of you.

The people this message concerns are the young women of this school, and of the world. In particular, it concerns the silent ones, the intelligent ones, the ones that don’t talk about people behind their backs, the ones that guys don’t flock to in droves, the ones that don’t dress in revealing clothing, the ones who would love to be in love, and the ones that are continually disappointed in their appearance because the only thing they have to compare themselves to are the women that have been put on pedestals by our society. This message also concerns those of you who may consider yourselves the so called “opposite” to the demographic I just described. The ones who do dress in revealing clothing, and the ones who try to fit in with the crowd.

You don’t need to dress or act a certain way to fit in, to feel attractive, or to BE attractive. You’re all far more attractive than you realize. All of you. But that’s not to say that you should all dress in revealing clothing. No, not at all. Sure, a girl who dresses that way might turn a few heads, and get some compliments. But real attractiveness doesn’t come from wearing the latest fashion, and it doesn’t come from being scantily clad in public, or putting on make-up, or having a pretty face, or a nice body. No. Real attractiveness comes from having a certain dignity. It comes from having class. It comes from being true to yourself, being yourself, and being comfortable in your own skin. This message is for all young women within the sound of my voice and beyond. You’re all beautiful. You all have inner beauty AND outer beauty.

Durham Catholic District School Board Representing Ajax: Janice Oldman Ph: (905) 683-9169 E-mail: Janice.Oldman@durhamrc.edu.on.ca

Archdiocese of Toronto Neil MacCarthy, Director of Public Relations and Communications Ph: (416) 934-0606 E-mail: communications@archtoronto.org

Funny, the Toronto Star editorialist didn't keep her own advice to herself. But then, she has a right to voice her opinion - unlike young Mr. Gomille.

What on earth makes you think that the double standard applies to Heather Mallick? It's a one-way street for her. That's the way it is with hypocrites.

Un-stinking-believable.

This young man ought to be given a medal.

Thank God there are men like him (and he IS a man even at 17, more of a man than most of those carrying a Y chromosome) out there who see past women being sex objects and recognize them as people with inherent dignity and the beauty that comes from within than without.

Some girl is going to be very fortunate when he finally decides to settle down.

Well you see metmom one must look at it from the girls point of view. I thought long and hard about this yesterday and this is the conclusion I have come to. These girls have been feed liberal lies all their life to the point that they believe that this “man” is trying to tell them what to do with their own bodies. What is worse how dare this “man” and a Bible thumping conservative at that tell them how they should dress? Why to dress modestly would be "oppressive" and "degrading" to say the least. That "man" is just trying to keep them under his thumb as the women of the Victorian area were. Or so they think. Nope they all want to dress like little Madonna or Brittney sluts and get their free Sandra Fluke birth control. That to them is a liberated woman. No man is telling them what to do, no sir re Bob.

All the lies of the enemy.

The irony of the feminist movement is that it has turned women into the very thing they rail against, that is being sex objects for men.

They’ve handed to men on a silver platter the very thing they condemn men for and do not see the hypocrisy. They’ve *freed* themselves from all sexual restraint so that they are sexually *free* and give men just what they complain men only want from women, sex without charge or commitment.

And then ironically condemn men for seeing them only as the sex objects that they present themselves as.

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Excellent comments on the thread as well. Girls need to step up and join this young man. Modesty is not only "nice" it is a basic virtue, and the opposite - flaunting what should remain private - leads invariably to the demeaning of both womanhood and manhood. Women who dress with self-respect and modesty will be treated with respect more so that women who dress as though their bodies are for rent. This is an unpopular position but the truth is the truth.

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