Montreal students take stance against bullying as they mark Pink Shirt Day

Students at Dunrae Gardens Elementary School in TMR took part in Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday, joining a global movement against bullying.

Students at Dunrae Gardens Elementary School in the Town of Mount Royal (TMR) took part in Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday, joining a global movement against bullying.

Samara O’Gorman, the English Montreal School Board’s ambassador for compassionate leadership, spoke to students about her own experiences with being bullied.

“I was targeted in schools for the ways that I chose to express myself, which I share with the kids,” she said.

Data from the Institut de la statistique du Québec show that in 2022, 12 per cent of students aged 12 and older experienced bullying.

“It makes me feel sad for the people that are getting bullied, because I don’t think nobody should be getting bullied,” said Grade 3 student Aquirel Yac.

Grade 6 student Miriam Todd echoed this sentiment. She says kindness is key to preventing bullying.

“You need to be kind because if you’re not, people can feel left out or alone or just feel like people are being mean to them,” said Todd.

For younger students like kindergartener Mila Rafael, wearing a pink shirt is a simple but meaningful gesture. “We could show people how much we love each other,” she said.

The initiative, which began in Nova Scotia in 2007, was started by a group of teenage friends who wore pink shirts in support of a Grade 9 boy bullied for wearing that colour.

Pink Shirt Day, which falls on the last Wednesday of February every year, has grown into a worldwide movement, with 180 countries participating, according to its website.