Think pink

Pink Day is Thursday, September 30 on campus. (Bruce Bottomley Photo)

It started with two Grade 12 students who organized an impromptu show of support after seeing a fellow student bullied on the first day of school for wearing a pink polo shirt and it blossomed into the Canada-wide Stand Up Against Bullying Day.

Now the sentiments behind David Shepherd and Travis Price’s action that September day in 2007 – one of respect and support for each other – are coming to Dalhousie. Staff, students and faculty are encouraged to wear pink on Thursday, Sept. 30 – Pink Day.

At 11:45 a.m., people “in support of a bully-free and respectful university community” will assemble in front of the Student Union Building and move on to the Studley Quad for speeches and a free barbecue. (The rain location is the Studley Gym.)

It’s a way of promoting the university as a respectful and inclusive place to work and learn and kicks off a month of programming, informs Janice MacInnis, Dalhousie’s coordinator of organizational health for Human Resources. On the staff side, Human Resources and the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Harassment Prevention are organizing a series of a series of lunchtime sessions on topics related to respect, conflict resolution and diversity in the workplace. (See schedule below.)

Called the “Respect Campaign,” it’s all about awareness, says Gaye Wishart, an advisor with Dalhousie’s Office of Human Rights, Equity & Harassment Prevention, and is not in response to a rash of bullying incidents across campus. She notes “being treated with respect and having good cooperation among co-workers” were the most highly rated factors in evaluating Dalhousie in the 2009 Workplace Survey.

“There are incidents on campus, there are, after all, incidents in every workplace,” she says. “But this is about creating a climate of respect on campus.”

“It’s really about awareness about the way we interact in the workplace,” adds Ms. MacInnis. “You can still debate and challenge and disagree, but there are ways to do that without getting personal.”

On the student side, Student Services and the Dalhousie Student Union are collaborating to present Live Well @ Dal, a wellness campaign focusing on maintaining a healthy mind, body and soul while attending Dal. Pink Day kicks off an exhaustive schedule of events including the Dalhousie Football Club home opener, a night of stand-up comedy and workshops from Dalhousie Counselling Services.

For further information on bullying, harassment and how to prevent/respond go to www.hrehp.dal.ca