For the first time in Spartan history, the White Station Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter spent the month of Oct. leading an official bullying awareness campaign in association with National Bullying Prevention Month. 

This initiative, organized by DECA Secretary Elizabeth Hubbard (12) and Co-President Monica Williams (12), consisted of encouraging students to wear blue on Oct. 23 and bright colors like pink, orange and yellow on Oct. 29 as a statement against bullying.

“The goal of the color days is basically just awareness,” Hubbard said. “While we are aware that everyone wearing a certain color will not simply get rid of bullying in our school, it shows that whoever wears the color is against bullying, and it raises awareness that bullying is a real issue.”

Although this initiative started as Hubbard’s and Williams’ required written event project for DECA, it also had more personal ties to its creators. 

“It means a lot because I’ve been a victim of bullying myself, and I wished it was something people actually cared about when it was happening to me,” Williams said. “So, I wanted to be more proactive for this cause specifically because I know how it can affect people from personal experience.”

Because this was DECA’s first year promoting a project of this nature, the level of success expected by officers like Hubbard and Williams was initially low. 

“Personally, I was surprised about how many people participated in the wear-blue day,” Hubbard said. “In my classes, a majority of students were wearing blue, so that was very encouraging to see that people really do care.”

While there are currently no solidified plans to repeat this push for bullying awareness in coming years, it certainly sets a precedent for the organization’s future officers. 

“I would hope our DECA chapter would continue this because bullying is ever-present in today’s society,” Williams said. “It’s a serious issue and deserves so much more attention than it receives.”