Pink is flattering on everyone and will never go out of style.
The North Shore will be awash in the rosy colour synonymous with kindness on Feb. 22, when participants commemorate Pink Shirt Day and make an anti-bullying fashion statement.
At West Bay elementary, as part of Pink Shirt Day, two Grade 7 students have taken it upon themselves to spread awareness about LGBTQ+ issues by preparing a presentation to deliver to the intermediate classes at their school.
“I feel like you should be able to love whoever you want to love – I know it sounds cheesy but it’s true,” says student Cassidy Foley.
Foley was inspired to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community after her friend and classmate Zoie Bhalloo told her about a special book she received for Christmas.
In Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen, American student and activist Jazz Jennings, a strong voice for gender identity, candidly shares her story of how she transitioned to life as a girl at the age of five.
Both Bhalloo and Foley say they can’t fathom what life must have been like back then for Jennings, who struggled to live as her true self.
“I never thought any of this would happen,” says Bhalloo after reading about Jennings’ plight. “I was out of my mind. I was like this is crazy.”
As part of their project, the girls looked at how other countries and religions in the world view homosexuality and were disheartened in some cases. They learned about a South American man who was brutally beaten and tortured to death because he was gay, and how homosexuality is punishable by death in some areas of the world.
Teaching their peers about transgender equality and how to be respectful is paramount to the girls’ Pink Day presentation in two weeks.
An online Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) resource tool helped the girls hone in on the gender identity aspect. They learned how to put the subject in terms younger kids will understand.
“Their vision is to spread knowledge about this issue so that when students do get to a larger school like high school – it can be a delicate time for them – that they can have the understanding and accept people from all different cultures and sexual orientations,” says the girls’ teacher, Janet Hicks, IB co-ordinator at West Bay.
Bhalloo and Foley have been bullied themselves.
A newcomer to West Bay in Grade 3, Bhalloo was afraid of past experiences.
“Part of it was I was bullied at my old school and people said I wasn’t pretty and they didn’t want to hang out with me,” says 12-year-old Bhalloo.
Foley was the new kid in school last year, moving here from Colorado by way of Mexico, where the youngster struggled to fit in.
“At my old school, I lived in Mexico as well, they used to call me the white girl,” says Foley, adding she was excluded from student clubs. “And although it isn’t your everyday bullying, it hurt a lot because I was very different. I was the only Caucasian at my school, so I stuck out like a sore thumb.”
West Bay has been a breath of fresh air for the friends.
“This school is so open to anything and I’ve never had an experience here where I felt bullied,” says Bhalloo. “I was stunned by how aware everyone is here.”
For this year’s Pink Day, the message is what to do – be kind – instead of what not to do – bully.
“We don’t want to only teach people not to bully because then everyone’s in the middle, we want to be accepting and including,” says Foley.
Bhalloo agrees, saying you can’t judge a book by its cover.
“It’s not just being nice, it’s being aware that people aren’t just OK,” says Bhalloo, explaining how there might be something else going on below the surface. “You have to accept the fact that people might not feel the way you think they feel.”
Other West Vancouver schools are planning various events on Feb. 22, encouraging students to dress in pink. Gleneagles elementary and Lions Bay Community School students have been invited to design a pink T-shirt on paper to demonstrate anti-bullying efforts.
In the North Vancouver School District, Brad Baker, district principal of Aboriginal Education and Safe and Caring Schools, annually organizes the clothing design for Pink Shirt Day. While yet to be unveiled, the colourful shirts will be worn by staff in the school district.
Queensbury elementary fine arts teacher Colleen Murphy is planning to take the anti-bullying message to the street this Pink Shirt Day.
Murphy’s students will be leading a school-wide march from Queensbury to Grand Boulevard Park and back. Students will be proudly wearing their pink shirts and sharing messages of kindness with one another, as well as with members of the community.
“Pink Shirt Day has evolved into a significant reminder for our entire community to take a stand against bullying, and it’s so rewarding to see that message spearheaded by our future generation,” says Murphy.
