PINK POWER UNITED AGAINST BULLIES
More than 8,000 Calgary students create a sea of pink at the first Be Brave anti-bullying game between the Calgary Hitmen and Brandon Wheat Kings at the Dome. Wednesday was Pink Shirt Day, a Canadian-born global movement that aims to end bullying.
Bold and bright swaths of pink painted many corners of the city Wednesday, as thousands of Calgary students, teachers and celebrities donned rose-coloured T-shirts for Pink Shirt Day, part of the growing effort to put an end to bullying.
At Nelson Mandela High School in the city’s northeast, more than 1,200 students listened to comedian and broadcaster Candy Palmater and Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell share personal stories of feeling undermined and intimidated, reminding kids they all have a responsibility to fight bullying, report it and stop it as part of the journey toward understanding that everyone has value.
“The world often tells us that we’re not enough. We’re not white enough, we’re not rich enough, we’re not pretty enough. But everyone is special and it only takes one person, one caring adult, to let a child know they are enough and that they are valued,” said Palmater, who said she was able to overcome bullying in school because of a caring home environment.
“Today is all about teaching kindness, self-acceptance and defining for yourself who you are and what your place is in this world.”
Mitchell encouraged everyone at the school to make a “pink shirt promise” like him, vowing to love everyone unconditionally.
“This is a big deal to me and not a way just to get recognition. But if I make a promise, I will stick to it. And I promise to love everyone, whether they are black, white, gay, straight, Muslim, American, Canadian.”
Mitchell also brought along his wife, who is expected to give birth to a daughter any day, and told the crowd they will name her Ele, an acronym for “everyone loves everyone.”
After local celebrities shared their stories, kids, too, were willing to open up — including 15-yearold Riddhi Patel, who was forced to leave her junior high school after kids bullied her with sexualized name-calling and constant, cruel teasing. Even after reporting the abuse to a teacher, Patel still felt depressed and marginalized.
Since arriving at Nelson Mandela, Patel feels confident and empowered, with a supportive group of friends.
“I think kids need to know that if they’re being bullied, it’s OK to remove themselves from that situation, it doesn’t mean you’re being weak,” Patel said. “Once you’re in a supportive environment, you feel stronger and you feel so much better about yourself. Your confidence rises.”
School principal Teresa Martin said the high school has a number of programs to combat bullying, including Student Connects, where kids meet to confide in trusted teachers once a week to share anything that’s bothering them.
“Bullying is a really difficult thing, and I’m not sure if we’ll ever be able to completely eradicate it,” Martin said. “But we can make things better, and we can give students the tools to deal with it and to report it.”
Meanwhile, more than 8,000 students were bused to the Scotiabank Saddledome to watch a WHL game between the Calgary Hitmen and the Brandon Wheat Kings as part of Pink Shirt Day and the hockey club’s Be Brave antibullying campaign.