High School students in Owen Sound are wearing pink to combat bullying.
It’s part of anti-bullying week and students at OSCVI are wearing pink shirts, pink wrist-bands and even pink hijabs.
Grade 9 Math Teacher Erin Mackay says one of her students in Muslim and wears a hijab so her students decided to embrace her culture.
The students wearing the hijabs say it’s a great experience.
Sara Kaal says its a good feeling to know her classmates are open to supporting her culture and stand up to bullies at the same time.
Vice Principal Andrea Tang says their Anti Bullying Committee have also been collecting pledges from each home room.
Tang says they’re posting the pledges on lockers throughout the school so everybody at OSCVI knows the majority of the student body will not tolerate bullying.
Bullying has become a hot issue across the country.
The Canadian Mental Health Association reported suicide as the second leading cause of death for Canadians between the ages of 10 and 24.
CMHA’s Jackie Ralph says those statistics are alarming because 1 in 5 youth who are bullied will experience a mental health issue, but only two thirds will report it.
Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week wraps up across Ontario on Saturday.
