Student leaders should model speaking up, showing other students that it’s the right thing to do.

Bullies may try to shame you into silence, but remember: reporting is about helping someone escape trouble, not getting them into it. Thematic days reinforce the positive act of speaking up.

Organize a school colors shirt day, announcing it one week in advance. Set up a sign-up sheet in the hallway (or conduct a school assembly) where students pledge to speak up against bullying and clarify the difference between reporting and tattling.

About Pink shirt day: Pink shirts inspire anti-bullying day

The pink wave has hit Nova Scotia’s Province House, inspiring the government to earmark one day every year for students to send an anti-bullying message. The second Thursday of the school year is now known as Stand Up Against Bullying Day.

To mark the day, Premier Rodney MacDonald is asking students at every level to wear pink. MacDonald said he was impressed by the actions of two Annapolis Valley students who rallied around a younger student after he was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt.

“I’ve seen circumstances as a teacher where students can make a difference, and this is one of those times when students have made a difference,” said MacDonald, a former gym teacher.

The Grade 12 students at Central Kings Rural High School have become celebrities, inspiring students around Nova Scotia to wear pink to show that bullying will not be tolerated.

Shepherd and Price came up with the idea after hearing that a Grade 9 student was harassed, threatened and called a homosexual for wearing pink on the first day of school.

They bought 50 pink shirts from a discount store, then e-mailed classmates to get them on board. The next day, hundreds of students showed up wearing pink clothing.

Article from CBC