Students across Long Island wore blue to school on Wednesday, February 2, to honor the lives and sacrifices of slain Police Officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera.
The grassroots organization received support from many Long Island School Districts, with many more students joining in independently.
“All students and staff are invited to wear blue on Wednesday,” read a tweet from the Smithtown Central School District account.
The tweet continued to read, “Please join us in wearing blue tomorrow Wednesday) in honor of fallen NYPD officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora. We all mourn the incredible loss of two selfless heroes. To our own Smithtown parents, guardians, staff members, alumni and community members who serve in all levels of law enforcement – Please accept a very sincere “thank you” for your dedicated service. Your efforts do not go unnoticed, and we are incredibly grateful to all of you. We thank you in advance for those of you who are able to participate tomorrow.”
Students were happy to wear blue to honor the ultimate sacrifice made by the two officers.
“I’m very sad at what happened to them,” said one Hauppauge Middle School student. “Hopefully, this helps.”
Other community members were more than happy to take up the call.
“As the child of a police officer, I take this very seriously,” said Smithtown Teacher Joseph Cotignola. “I take pride in the fact that my father was a police officer, and I will do anything I can do to support the hardworking men and women of law enforcement. Wearing blue is the least we can do to show our support for those that defend our communities and keep us safe.”
“I feel like it’s important that students and anybody of any age are aware of the sacrifices that the people are making to keep us safe every day,” said Karl Robinson of Hauppauge.
Parents were able to use this event to bridge a difficult topic with younger children to impress upon them the dangers law enforcement face.
The action of wearing blue also picked up traction outside of schools as several businesses took part in the day, such as Performax Physical Therapy in Deer Park.
Some parents were upset with the short notice of the event, being publicized after 9:00 p.m. the night before in the Smithtown Central School District.
Suffolk County PBA took to Twitter to say, “Thank you so much to all the kids and educators out there today wearing blue today in honor of officer Mora and Rivera.”
Suffolk County PBA thanked Harborfields Schools, Seneca Middle School, Tamarac Elementary School, Hauppauge Schools, Eastport South Manor Schools, Connetquot Schools, Franklin Square Schools, Miller Place Schools and St Patrick’s Catholic School of Smithtown, amongst other districts in Instagram and Twitter postings.
