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The usual mix of students’ work lines the walls of Patti Rowley’s third-floor classroom at Walter Murray Collegiate. There’s a lot of rainbows in there, too. Look a little closer and you’ll see some unexpected posters.

One, showing two young male hockey players kissing, is part of an awareness campaign for the National Day Against Homophobia. The words “Shocking? For the homophobe…” are emblazoned across the top.

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A fridge magnet on Rowley’s file cabinet states: “I hate the word homophobia. It’s not a phobia. You are not scared. You are an a**hole.”

Rowley has created an incredibly safe and accepting space in her classroom and her school for all teenagers, regardless of their sexual or gender identity. Thanks to Rowley’s efforts, Walter Murray became the first in the Saskatoon Public School division to have a gender neutral washroom.

She’s outspoken when it comes to complaints about the washroom.