Pink shirts inspire anti-bullying day

The pink wave has hit Nova Scotia'sProvince House, inspiring the governmentto earmarkone dayevery yearfor students to sendan anti-bullyingmessage.

The second Thursday of the school year is now known as Stand Up Against Bullying Day.

To mark the day,Premier Rodney MacDonaldis asking students at every level towear pink.

MacDonaldsaid he was impressed by the actions of two Annapolis Valley students who rallied arounda younger student after he was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt.

"I've seen circumstances as a teacher where students can make a difference, and this is one of those times when students have made a difference," said MacDonald, a former gym teacher.

The two students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, werein Halifax Tuesday for thesigning of the proclamation.

TheGrade 12 students at Central Kings Rural High School have become celebrities, inspiring students aroundNova Scotiato wear pink to showthat bullying will not be tolerated.

Shepherd and Price came up with the idea after hearing that a Grade 9 student was harassed, threatenedand called a homosexual for wearing pink on the first day of school.

They bought 50pink shirts from a discount store, then e-mailed classmates to get them on board. The next day, hundreds of students showed up wearing pink clothing.