Purple Tues., hat Weds., bow tie Friday

On Board Online • February 6, 2012

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior writer

Malayshia Seymour spoke up when her schoolmates started picking on a new girl, making fun of her accent and tossing out wisecracks about the newcomer from Africa.

“When I see people being called names, I will stand up for them because I’m not really a fan of name-calling,” said Seymour, a ninth-grader at the School Without Walls Foundation Academy in Rochester.

Another ninth-grader, Lexus Hernandez has noticed hostile comments aimed at kids who wear unusual clothing or sport sneakers lacking a prestigious brand name.

“There’s a lot of verbal abuse going on,” said Hernandez.

Seymour and Hernandez, both members of their school’s Gay Straight Alliance Club, were among Rochester City School District students taking part in this year’s observance of No Name-Calling Week, an annual national educational campaign founded by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. The National School Boards Association is among the organizations endorsing the program, which encourages students to invent their own ways of celebrating diversity and building a sense of community in schools.

The Rochester student group planned to wear purple clothing on a Tuesday and hats of any type on a Wednesday to show their support for all kids who are bullied.

To end the week, the students planned to wear bow ties. It was to be a display of solidarity for a seventh grader who has been harassed because of her fondness of the traditionally masculine neckwear and other non-conformist clothing.

The Rochester students’  activities came in early February, a week after the national observance of No Name Calling Week. There were conflicts with Regents exam during the official national week, Jan. 23-27.

No Name-Calling Week was inspired by a young adult novel by James Howe, The Misfits. The story is about four students who have experienced name-calling and run for student council on a platform of creating a “No Name Day” at school.

In Rochester, the educational activities were to include films and posters repeating the message that name-calling hurts.

“The kids’  goal is to educate other kids about how not to use these words and about how damaging name-calling can be,” said Foundation Academy English teacher Rob Schneider, a married, openly gay father of two.

No Name-Calling Week is one of several awareness activities that Foundation Academy’s Gay-Straight Alliance members undertake each year, Schneider said.

He said the student efforts, along with his own openness about his orientation and life, seem to have heightened sensitivity and helped discourage use of offensive phrases like “that’s so gay,” “no homo” and “faggot.”

No Name-Calling participants pledge not to stand idly by when they hear someone say something wrong, and Schneider believes that willingness has helped to alter the culture at Foundation Academy in a positive way.

Students who object to name-calling and bullying know they have options for expressing themselves, he said.

One student may simply tell another student to stop using such words, or a student can say something like “our school is not about that.”  

If they are in a group, students who have signed the pledge may choose to surround the student who spoke and quietly turn their backs to him or her to express their disapproval.

“It’s a lot about kids educating other kids about owning the words they use,” Schneider said.