Students Don Orange To Prevent Bullying
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Children across the state dressed in orange Wednesday to highlight Bullying Prevention Day.
The color blazed inside Hopkins' Eisenhower Elementary School and signs bore handwritten messages, like: "Speak up, be an upstander."
"In our school, there's bullying going on," said fifth-grader Rahmatullah Dem. "I don't want it to go on."
So, Dem wore orange Wednesday and watched videos with her classmates about bullying prevention.
School counselor Courtney Davis said bullying is something students have to deal with on a daily basis.
"Could be name calling, could be teasing, pushing, shoving, that type of thing," Davis said.
School officials say students who see bullying or signs of it are encouraged to stand up and disrupt it.
"People in this school are being upstanders," Dem said. "They're standing up for what is right."
The 2014-2015 school year is the first one affected by the state's new anti-bullying law, which requires public schools to have specific plans to combat bullying.
Davis says she's seen a lot of changes around the school since bullying awareness efforts were put into place.
"I've seen a lot of changes already," said Davis, "and I know they'll just keep getting better."