“Stop bullying; it’s mean, it’s sad, it’s not cool,” said one of the several posters carried by Cote students on their Pink Day walk on Highway No. 8 north of Kamsack last week.
Students up to Grade 9 at Chief Gabriel Cote Education Complex, their teachers and representatives of the Canadian Red Cross, which each year promotes the Red Cross Pink Day as a way of calling for a change around the culture of bullying, participated in the walk that began at the school at 11 a.m. on May 4.
Co-ordinated by Charlie Friday, the walk had students wearing pink T-shirts and waving pink pompoms while chanting anti-bullying slogans. Some students carried placards denouncing bullying. The parade was led by a Kamsack RCMP patrol car with lights flashing.
“The Canadian Red Cross thanks the people of Cote First Nation, and particularly the committed children and youth of the community, for welcoming our organization to participate in the Pink Day walk event at Chief Gabriel Cote School,” Meaghan Smith of the Red Cross in Regina, said following the walk.
Although the official Pink Day was observed this year on February 24, events are often dependant on weather, so it is not unusual for communities or schools to observe the day on other dates, Smith said.
“We like to get loud for Red Cross Pink Day,” said information from the Red Cross. “We raise awareness of bullying issues and encourage everyone to become involved in building healthy communities free of bullying.”
Last year, the Red Cross bullying prevention program reached more than 33,000 youth in Saskatchewan, the information said. “The Red Cross bullying prevention program is evidence-based, curriculum-linked and recommended by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.
“We train youth to deliver bullying prevention presentations to their peers, adults to present about bullying prevention and through a partnership with the Saskatchewan Roughriders we train several players to deliver bullying prevention presentations to Saskatchewan schools.
“Last year there were more than 2,800 students at Pink student rallies in Saskatoon and Regina,” it said. This year, in addition to Cote First Nation, they were held in February in Saskatoon, Regina and Yorkton, among other locations.
In 2007, a Grade 9 student in Cambridge, N.S. was bullied by classmates for wearing a pink shirt to school, the information said. Taking notice, two Grade 12 students named Travis Price and David Shepherd rallied their friends to send a message to the bullies. The next day the halls were filled with students in pink T-shirts. This was the beginning of Pink Day.
“Pink Day started when two boys chose to do something about bullying rather than stand by and watch it happen,” it said. “Now the movement is worldwide. It is educating and inspiring others to do something about bullying and to shift the culture away from this behaviour.
“Three out of four people say they have been affected by bullying. But bullying doesn’t just affect individuals. Schools and communities also suffer the effects of bullying.
“Together we can do something about it. We can create safe and respectful environments for everyone!
“The Red Cross in Saskatchewan has been celebrating Pink Day since 2011 to complement our year-round bullying prevention program,” the information said. “Pink Day raises awareness around bullying issues and inspires others to help change the culture around bullying.
“Add your voice to the thousands of others calling for a change around the culture of bullying.”
