On February 21, senior Seidy Pichardo hosted a tie-dye activity in anticipation of Pink Shirt Day, an anti-bullying campaign to push for self-love through the Darlington community.
Though now nationally recognized by many countries, Pink Shirt Day began with students in a town in Nova Scotia who rallied together to wear pink and show solidarity with a student who was bullied for wearing pink. This act of kindness later transformed into what is now known as Pink Shirt Day.
“Pink Shirt Day is actually nationally celebrated in schools all across the United States, and it’s an anti-bullying day,” Senior Ventures teacher Rebekah Kinney said. “A lot of schools will wear all pink or pink shirts that day, and they’ll do a lot of activities just like we’re doing.”
Annually, students from more than 25 countries participate in Pink Shirt Day, which raises awareness for and against bullying. It recognizes that bullying is a pervasive problem in schools across the world. Thus, its mission is to emphasize the importance of unity, inclusivity, and diversity across all groups of people.
“Senior Ventures is an opportunity for seniors to complete a year-long passion project…For example, Sadie Pichardo…wanted to improve community service at Darlington,” Kinney said.
Pink Shirt Day is Pichardo’s personal Senior Venture project, which highlights her passion for community service. She is also involved with many community-centered student groups to contribute to the Darlington community. With the support of student groups such as the Gay-Straight Alliance, the Black Student Union, the Asian Student Union, Mrs. Kinney, Ms. Pichardo, Mrs. Tunnell and Ms. Shores, Pichardo was able to bring Pink Shirt Day to life. With all of their support, she planned for this event since the beginning of the school year.
“I first saw this idea at my old school and it was really wonderful, so I decided to share it with the Darlington community,” Pichardo said.
Pichardo wanted to push for unity within Darlington, which she believed Pink Shirt Day could contribute to. As an event that recognizes the importance of self-love and acceptance, it helped many students feel an atmosphere of positivity. Activities such as friendship bracelet making in the student center also brought many people together and Pichardo hopes for Pink Shirt Day to continue as a Darlington tradition for years to come.
“I think it’s really good that we did something like Pink Shirt Day, especially at this school since it represents anti-bullying,” junior Ava Rowe said.
Many people said they enjoyed the day and the activities and said it encouraged them to spread more kindness around the community. They emphasized that it made them be grateful for the love and positivity that surrounded them.
“I think that [it was] important that I host this event because Darlington is a wonderful community, but every school faces bullying,” Pichardo said. “[Thus], I feel that it’s important to highlight it and bring more joy and connection to counteract that.”