Students of All Ages Take Stand Against Bullying on Unity Day

Parents may have noticed kids on Friday coming home wearing orange wristbands. Although it's indeed the season of pumpkins and autumn leaves and other orange-themed things, this wristband stands alone.

Middletown Public School students have taken a stand against bullying — and they're marking it by wearing can't-miss-it color orange tops, sweaters, shirts and even sneakers laces in honor of Unity Day.

Rubber bracelets with "Be Good To Each Other" and "Middletown Public Schools" were distributed throughout the district to every student and staff member.

When Middletown Mayor Dan Drew proclaimed October 25 as Unity Day in Middletown, it prompted students and teachers to show their "true colors" and stand up for students who are bullied. 

Children throughout the district were given orange wristbands and encouraged to wear orange, the color identified as the symbol against bullying and mean-spirited behavior, and uphold the motto: "Make it Orange and Make it End!"

Over at Macdonough Elementary School, the staff and student body were a veritable sea of orange Friday as a couple dozen gathered outside the school for a group photo.

Principal Jon Romeo said over the last week, teachers incorporated anti-bullying curriculum into the classroom work. Last week, the fourth- and fifth-graders were visited by the Woodrow Wilson PRIDE Patrol, who acted out skits and posed questions to children, helping them to identify bullying behavior and seek appropriate interventions.

Inside, the hallway display included one by fourth-graders who were asked to fill out their own How I Will Stop Bullying sheets.

Here's a smattering of their answers:

• I will stop bullying by saying 'sorry' because I don't want anybody doing it to me.
• I notice when I bully after I feel like a bad guy. My bully days are over at school. How about yours?
• If I'm the one that is getting bullied, I will stand up for myself and say, 'Sorry, what do you want from me? What did I do to you?'

Romeo says he's changed his approach when talking to parents whose children have exhibited an instance of less-than-stellar-behavior toward peers.

"In terms of a parent hearing that their child is a 'bully,' it's a hard message to deliver. We prefer to say they've used 'mean behavior,' as a way of saying our kids could be mean. When you hear the word 'bully' some walls go up. We try to get parents to hear about their child's actions in a thoughtful way."

So instead of labeling a child as a "big, bad bully," which carries with it the idea of a permanent, hulking label, the parent is made to understand that everyone, child or adult, could have an instance of "bad behavior" which can be rectified.

"It opens up a dialogue," says Romeo, himself clad in a dark orange oxford shirt on Friday, "for parents to understand it's not a permanent label."

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