Students rally to stop bullying

REGINA- In the lead up to Wednesday’s Red Cross Day of Pink, 1,500 students from Regina and surrounding areas packed into the Turvey Centre to hear from speakers about how to deal with bullying.

“I’ve been bullied a lot. I had to move schools because of it,” said one student.

“They will call you names and they won’t be very nice to you,” said another.

It wasn’t difficult to find students who are bullied or know someone who has been bullied and stories from current and past football stars showed the kids even elite athletes may have had a rough ride.

“A lot of the guys that play football professionally have been through trials and tribulations throughout their entire life,” said Saskatchewan Roughrider Neal Hughes. “There’s definitely a lot of lessons that we’ve learned along the way that we can pass on to the kids.”

“I was bullied a lot when I got here from New Zealand and it could have been detrimental,” said former Roughrider Luc Mullinder. “You can have your goals and your dreams and go through something like that and still get to where you want to be.”

One of the co-founders of Pink Shirt Day, Travis Price, stood up to bullying seven years ago by asking peers at his school in Nova Scotia to wear a pink shirt after one of his classmates was bullied for doing just that.

“I was severely affected by bullying right from grade 1 to grade 12, between name calling and getting beaten up and being pushed around,” said Price. “It affected me and my family. It’s something that no kid should have to go through.”

Since 2007, pink shirt events have been held in dozens of countries, something its founders never imagined.

“We accidentally created the fastest growing anti-bullying movement in the world today,” said Price. “It’s crazy to see what this has really turned into.”

His advice for students is to stay busy and focus on their talents: “Video games, music writing, art, whatever it is. Find that healthy outlet. Do it when you’re going through those tough times.”