Anti-Bullying rally

Posted on: J A McRae

Manny Everett – Submitted

The student body (boys, girls and teachers) of Standard School came to school on Thursday wearing PINK. It was an awareness day recognizing anti-bullying in our school system.

The idea was the brainchild of two teenage students in Nova Scotia who took a stand against bullies in their school. CBC News, September 19, 2007, reported that David Shepherd and Travis Price, after hearing a student was called a homosexual and threatened for wearing pink, went to a nearby discount store and bought 50 pink shirts, including tank tops, to wear to school the next day.

“They got the word out online about their idea to wear pink in support of the student and to take a stand against the bullies, “I just figured enough was enough,” Shepherd was quoted as saying. The next day hundreds of students showed up in pink clothing and little was heard from the bullies again.

One in four children are bullied in Canada; one in five children are the bully. Children are bullied for a variety reasons and the bullying takes on many different forms. According to BullyCanada.ca, all of the following constitute bullying:

Punching, shoving or other physical violence;
Spreading negative rumors about people,
Deliberately excluding people from a group,
Teasing people;
Ganging up on people.

Bullying fits into one of four groups: Physical Bullying, Cyber Bullying, Social Bullying and Verbal Bullying. Bullying is not limited to the classrooms, hallways and playgrounds of schools. It can also be experienced in the workplace, after-school groups and other social settings.

Thank you to those who organized this event here in Standard and making us aware yet again how important it is to treat each other with respect and kindness.