By: Carolyn Lai
February is not only known for Valentine’s Day but also Pink Shirt Day! Pink Shirt Day is celebrated and recognized by many schools across the country today and many schools have recognized this day as a day for bullying awareness and wearing a pink shirt to show support against bullying. Pink Shirt Day all started in Canada when a student in grade 9 was bullied and harassed by other schoolmates just for wearing a pink shirt in 2007. 2 students in Grade 12, Travis Price and David Sheppard, noticed the bullying and decided to step up about it by ordering pink shirts for everyone at school to wear and encouraging students to wear pink. The next day, mostly everyone at the school was wearing pink in support for the student. In fact, the 2 students didn’t expect for Pink Shirt Day to become a global thing and today, it is recognized all over the world. Bullying is a problem that affects everyone everywhere. People are often picked on for many things like their appearance, likes/dislikes, and sometimes even for no reason. Bullying can cause many problems for victims which can include depression and anxiety and in turn, victims can take many impulsive actions which can affect their life. Witnesses of bullying often feel too scared to speak up and defend the victim(s) and become bystanders. On Pink Shirt Day, we recognize these issues regarding bullying and raise awareness for bullying. Many stores often will be selling pink shirts or even just something pink in general so don’t worry about not being able to find anything pink for this Pink Shirt Day! This Pink Shirt Day, don’t forget to wear your pink shirt and stand up to bullying! Know that your pink shirt means a lot and can raise much awareness! Don’t be a bystander! Be an upstander!
Works Cited
KelownaNow. “The Story of Pink Shirt Day from Co-Founder Travis Price.” KelownaNow, http://www.kelownanow.com/news/news/World_News/17/02/22/The_story_of_Pink_Shirt_Day_from_co_founder_Travis_Price/.
“Pink Shirt Day.” Pink Shirt Day, http://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz/about/history/#:~:text=Origins%20of%20Pink%20Shirt%20Day,to%20wear%20the%20next%20day.
Titan Times 