Hilltop students learn about bullying at 2018 Pink Shirt Day assembly

 

On Wednesday, February 28 students at Hilltop High School were encouraged to wear pink as part of the anti-bullying movement, Pink Shirt Day. The idea for the movement came from two students in Nova Scotia after they found out that a student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. Tired of the bullying and wanting to do something about it, David Shepherd and Travis Price decided to round up 50 pink T-shirts, spread the news to their friends, and create a sea of pink at their school in support of the bullied student.

Years later, the movement has grown exponentially and is no longer a Nova Scotia thing or even a Canadian thing as schools around the world have joined in to take a stand against bullying. At Hilltop, the entire student body listened to several speakers including Mayor Maryann Chichak who shared her own personal experiences with bullying.

“The one thing I hope you take away from everything here today is that every day of our lives should be anti-bullying days. I challenge each one of you when you open your mouth and go to speak, to put yourself on the other side as the recipient and ask yourself, how would I feel if that person said those words to me? Before you pick up your phone and text, before you reply to anything on Facebook or Instagram, ask yourself the same question.”

She shared a trick that she uses called the 24-hour rule. “Walk away from the conversation and give yourself 24 hours. See how you feel the next day because I guarantee you that if you take a chance to reflect back and let your emotions go, you likely won’t say those things the next day.” After sharing her story, Chichak was joined by Fay Arcand and Tina Prodaniuk of the Family Violence Initiative and members of the Mayor’s Youth Committee to present student Samantha Rhynold with a shadowbox prize after her hashtag, #thinkpink was chosen as the winner in a recent contest. Her winning tag was printed on all the bracelets that were handed out at Hilltop, Percy Baxter, and École St. Joseph School.

Students also watched a video of a spoken word poem called To This Day Project by Shane Koyczan. Over the course of seven and a half minutes, Shane told a tale about living with bullies and the lasting effects it has on victims including himself. The video has amassed over 22 million views on YouTube and was very impactful to students. Once it ended, Principal Brent Northcott said, “You need to realize that every person is important. Every person deserves to be treated with respect. You don’t know their story and you shouldn’t pick on them because of it.”

Another moment that impacted students was when RCMP Constable Brown shared the legalities around bullying and how the simple act of texting someone can land you in serious trouble. She explained that cyber bullying is a crime and that one of the best things a victim can do is to screenshot the evidence and tell someone. “You have to understand that if you wouldn’t say that to someone in person, you should not be putting it out there on the internet. What you put online is not private or anonymous.”

She explained that children above the age of 12 can be charged with a criminal offence and those under 18 would be charged as youths while those over 18 would be charged as adults. She also eluded to that fact that some of the senior students in attendance fall under the adult category. Constable Brown then explained the different actions that can have legal consequences such as uttering threats, physical assault, and cyberbullying.

Although bullying has evolved into the online world and has provided a whole new set of hurdles, the changes in how the topic is discussed and dealt with are clear. Teachers, administrators, and police are more involved now than ever before which gives those who suffer more access to help. The days of being told to “get over it” or to “toughen up” are long gone, and movements like Pink Shirt Day will help make sure that the conversation doesn’t stop. #thinkpink

 

CUTLINE

 

Students at Hilltop High School took part in Pink Shirt Day celebrations on Wednesday, February 28 by attending a school-wide assembly. The pink shirts have become the face of the anti-bullying movement with schools across the world taking part in similar assemblies. Hilltop students heard from speakers Mayor Chichak and RCMP Constable Brown. They also played games and watched an anti-bullying video.