The Pink Wall of Kindness returns to Arts Central on national Pink Shirt Day, February 27^th, to encourage campus communities to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is collaborating with Criminology professor Brenda Morrison and her Restorative Justice (CRIM 416) class to host an event to promote anti-bullying on campus.

Professor Morrison, who also heads the Centre for Restorative Justice at Simon Fraser University, is a social psychologist whose research interests include issues relating to school bullying, such as school violence and safety.

She has lent her expertise to Pink Shirt Day in the past to discuss bullying and its impact on schools. Professor Morrison has previously highlighted the importance of adults learning to be fluent with social media so they can take on the role of teaching values and rules to their children on how to behave online, where a majority of bullying now takes place.

“It's so easy to be negative and spread hateful thoughts and messages, especially in an online environment,” says Brian Fox, Coordinator of Student Engagement at Arts Central, who has organized the event for two years. “We envisioned it as a space where students can write words of encouragement and anti-bullying sentiments and help build a more positive community on campus.”

Fox conceptualized the event after noticing an increasing amount of bullying and negativity taking place online through social media channels. “Everyone has a story of being bullied or knowing someone who has experienced some hate, which makes causes like Pink Shirt Day so important,” explains Fox.

In the current era of walls and barriers getting much attention in the US as symbols of divisiveness and hate, the Pink Wall of Kindness hopes to create a more positive connotation surrounding walls or barriers, and to create a symbol of unity, wellness, and acceptance on campus.