Thinking Pink
On Feb. 28, Hoover students won’t be wearing Bucs orange or Jags blue. They’ll be wearing pink.
Hoover City Schools will introduce a new anti-bullying initiative this month by participating in worldwide Pink Shirt Day on Feb. 28 and Be Kind Week on Feb. 26-March 1.
Crossroads School Principal Anna Whitney said her students have participated in Pink Shirt Day in the past, but this will be the first time the entire school system will get involved.
Rather than the typical lecture, Whitney said Crossroads focused on different activities and stories, including a documentary about bullying, to drive the message home.
“They had a blast because it made sense to them,” Whitney said of Crossroads’ Pink Shirt Day.
Whitney and HCS district interventionists Liz Fry, LeAnna Hurst, Jennifer McCombs and Kathryn Stewart came up with the plan and are “leading the charge.” Whitney said she and the interventionists read research showing that creating “a culture of kindness” was more effective than simply making students aware of bullying and the different forms it can take..
“We just decided that the world is not very kind to one another right now,” Whitney said.
Pink Shirt Day was started in 2007 in Canada, when a group of high school students wore pink clothes to school after a new student was bullied for wearing pink. Since then, the anti-bullying initiative has spread across the globe.
“It just works to build a climate and a culture where the right thing to do is to be kind to each other, whether it’s in the grocery store or at school or giving somebody a parking space,” Whitney said.
The entire week will see anti-bullying programs across the schools, Whitney said. Each school and the central office will be provided wristbands, banners, ribbons and signs with #PinkShirtDay and the Pink Panther – the logo Whitney and Hurst have chosen for Be Kind Week – to decorate the schools and share with students.
On the Wednesday of that week, students, faculty and staff can wear a pink shirt from home, though Whitney said some schools and PTOs will have shirts available to buy.
“Our goal is to get as many people in pink shirts as we can,” she said.
Whitney is also hoping to get city officials, local businesses and churches to support the effort, as she believes everyone, no matter their age, could use a little more kindness in their lives.
“People are bullied everywhere, and it can cost somebody their life,” Whitney said. “That to me is a scary thing.”
Whitney wants Be Kind Week and Pink Shirt Day to be a regular part of the school year in Hoover, and for kindness to be the culture all year long.
“We’ve got to do something to make things better. And we can,” Whitney said.