An Oakland Catholic school is replacing Pride flags on campus with its own symbol of LGBTQ+ inclusion, a move that comes as students return to campus for the new school year.Bishop O’Dowd High School has introduced what it called the “Inclusive O,” an emblem the school says incorporates colors from the Pride and Progress flags into the school’s signature “O.” The symbol will appear across the East Oakland campus instead of Pride flags, school President Kim Walsh told families in a Wednesday letter. Walsh said the change followed a year of conversations with students and other members of the O’Dowd community after Pride flags became a source of tension at the school.But some alumni say creating a school-specific alternative does not carry the same weight as displaying the Pride flag, a symbol widely associated with the LGBTQ+ community for decades. One social media post discussed on Reddit said the action “directly affects the LGBTQ+ population of the school by removing pieces of representation.”Walsh described the Pride flags as having become a “lightning rod” at O’Dowd during the previous school year. School leaders subsequently spent months consulting community members about how the school should approach LGBTQ+ representation on campus, Walsh said.
O’Dowd planned to introduce students to the new emblem during orientation Thursday, ahead of the first day of classes Monday…