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What's with all the purple? It's Spirit Day, and it's not too late to get involved.

Here's why it's worth 'going purple' this Thursday.

In 2010, high schooler Brittany McMillan organized the first Spirit Day, a way for allies to stand up to LGBT bullying.

She teamed up with LGBT media advocacy group GLAAD to help spread the word, urging people to show solidarity with LGBT youth and send an anti-bullying message by wearing purple on a specific date in October. Since its founding, Spirit Day — which is now an annual event on the third Thursday in October — has become an international movement celebrated by millions of people around the world.


But c'mon, it's not like it's that hard being an LGBT student these days, right? Well...

More than half of LGBT students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. Nearly 75% of these students have been verbally harassed, and 36% have been physically harassed for being LGBT.


Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me, though, right?

Wrong.

According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)'s 2013 National School Climate Survey, hostile school experiences have a very real, lasting effect on students. Verbal harassment has been linked to lower grades and self-esteem and a higher risk of depression, and it makes it less likely that students will go on to college.

Getting called anti-LGBT slurs can take a real toll on someone. GIFs via GLAAD.

And sometimes, it's easy to feel like you're all alone in the world.

But that's just kids being kids, right? Surely teachers and school staff have their backs, right? Not really.

"It's a Christian school. The teacher didn't care, and even told kids to watch out for me because she thought I would turn them gay," an Alabama high school senior told GLSEN in the survey.

More than 60% of the time, school staff ignored reports of anti-LGBT harassment by students. The harasser received any form of punishment only less than 20% of the time. Most disturbingly, in roughly 10% of reports, the student doing the reporting was the one disciplined. (WTF?)

Sometimes, anti-LGBT discrimination is built right into school policy.

Just this week, a suburban Chicago school district defied the federal government by banning a trans student from using the restroom, citing privacy and safety issues — even though there's absolutely zero evidence that a trans student poses any sort of threat.

Spirit Day is an important reminder to vulnerable LGBT youth that they aren't alone, that they have support.

It's a chance for students, teachers, friends, family, and really just anyone who's against treating people differently because of their gender or sexuality to show a visible sign of support.

Whether you're able to show your support in person by wearing purple or just online (yes, there's an app for that), Spirit Day is a quick way to say, "Hey, I've got your back."

Solidarity! Support!

Interested in learning how you can be a part of Spirit Day? Visit GLAAD's website or watch the video below.

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But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Let's not curse any more children with bad names, shall we?

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This seemed to be the case for one soon-to-be mom on the Reddit AITA forum recently. Apparently, she was second-guessing her vehement reaction to her husband’s, ahem, avant garde baby name for their daughter, which she called “the worst name ever.”

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Kudos to the heroes who had 90 seconds to save lives in the Key Bridge collapse

The loss of 6 lives is tragic, but the dispatch recording shows it could have been so much worse.

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The workers who responded to the Dali's mayday call saved lives with their quick response.

As more details of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore emerge, it's becoming more apparent how much worse this catastrophe could have been.

Just minutes before 1:30am on March 26, shortly after leaving port in Baltimore Harbor, a cargo ship named Dali lost power and control of its steering, sending it careening into a structural pillar on Key Bridge. The crew of the Dali issued a mayday call at 1:26am to alert authorities of the power failure, giving responders crucial moments to prepare for a potential collision. Just 90 seconds later, the ship hit a pylon, triggering a total collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge into the Patapsco River.

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Yale's pep band had to miss the NCAA tournament. University of Idaho said, 'We got you.'

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Courtesy of University of Idaho

The Idaho Vandals answered the call when Yale needed a pep band.

Yale University and the University of Idaho could not be more different. Ivy League vs. state school. East Coast vs. Pacific Northwest. City vs. farm town. But in the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, extenuating circumstances brought them together as one, with the Bulldogs and the Vandals becoming the "Vandogs" for a weekend.

When Yale made it to the March Madness tournament, members of the school's pep band had already committed to other travel plans during spring break. They couldn't gather enough members to make the trek across the country to Spokane, Washington, so the Yale Bulldogs were left without their fight song unless other arrangements could be made.

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