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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鈥檚 action that September day in 2007 鈥� one of respect and support for each other 鈥� are coming to Dalhousie. Staff, students and faculty are encouraged to wear pink on Thursday, Sept. 30 鈥� Pink Day.

At 11:45 a.m., people 鈥渋n support of a bully-free and respectful university community鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 鈥淩espect Campaign,鈥� it鈥檚 all about awareness, says Gaye Wishart, an advisor with Dalhousie鈥檚 Office of Human Rights, Equity & Harassment Prevention, and is not in response to a rash of bullying incidents across campus. She notes 鈥渂eing treated with respect and having good cooperation among co-workers鈥� were the most highly rated factors in evaluating 黑料吃瓜网in the 2009 Workplace Survey.

鈥淭here are incidents on campus, there are, after all, incidents in every workplace,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut this is about creating a climate of respect on campus.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 really about awareness about the way we interact in the workplace,鈥� adds Ms. MacInnis. 鈥淵ou can still debate and challenge and disagree, but there are ways to do that without getting personal.鈥�

On the student side, Student Services and the 黑料吃瓜网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 黑料吃瓜网Football Club home opener, a night of stand-up comedy and workshops from 黑料吃瓜网Counselling Services.

For further information on bullying, harassment and how to prevent/respond go to 听