Hat High students gathered to protest what they believe to be an injustice to exchange students / Photo: Meghan Cobb

By Meghan Cobb

Hat High students walk out to show support for exchange students

Jun 17, 2022 | 5:05 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – 45 students at Medicine Hat High walked out today to protest what they call the unfair treatment of exchange students.

The protest was organized by grade 12 students who say they have heard stories from classmates that make them concerned for how exchanged students are treated at school and at their home stays.

Organizer Ladi Bil says she is speaking out for the students who are alone and new to Canada.

“A lot of these people are my friends,” says Bil. “And even those who aren’t my friends, they are coming to a new country and don’t deserve to not have support. I believe they should get even more support because they are in a brand new country.”

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Bil says she gathered stories from her classmates who wanted to remain anonymous and shared some of those stories at the protest.

“We want to be heard,” says Bil. “The exchange program has a lot of flaws. We know nobody’s perfect, but there are too many flaws that people can’t idly sit by and allow them to happen. The Canadian experience for them should be better.”

The exchange program has tripled in numbers from its pre-pandemic size. Approximately 130 students have come to Medicine Hat throughout the year through the program.

Mark Davidson, Medicine Hat School District Superintendent, says the administration is listening to students as the program grows and has already made some changes.

“We heard concerns early about students being able to get support as quickly as they’d like to so we hired additional support in the middle of the year,” says Davidson. “We certainly hear concerns and are willing to act on them.”

One of the additional staff members is a home stay coordinator who coordinate all placements with the volunteer host families.

“There is a vetting process that includes criminal and vulnerable sector checks to ensure the home is a safe place,” says Davidson. “That does not mean every marriage between home and visitor is a good one and there is a process where students lets the home stay coordinator know they want a change, but that change isn’t always possible or possible immediately.”

Bil says she hopes the walk out will allow students to voice their concerns, create more change in the program and open communication lines.

“A lot of the exchange students I hope are now confident enough to speak up,” says Bill. “[I hope] a lot of things are actually taken in by admin to be addressing this issue, and hopefully allowing a proper connection and a bridge between the international counsellor and the exchange students.”

The school board supports the students’ right to protest and have their voices heard, but adds these stories and individual experiences shouldn’t be applied to everyone in the program.

“We work on examining our processes so they can let us know in a timely manner what what their worries are, and we can respond in a way that as well timely and fair,” says Davidson. “I also want to remember, we had 80 plus home stay families and lots of great homes that really cared about the kids who are here.”