Melissa Behunin, Professor of Family Studies and Psychology, and the Gay Straight Alliance for Equality (GSA4=) has invited the campus community to participate in observing the National Day of Silence on Thursday, April 14 at AWC, one day earlier than the National event.
GLSEN Student Ambassador Red O. shared her story of coming out and the importance of the Day of Silence in a blog at www.dayofsilence.org. "Tears were all I could release. I stood there frozen as the woman that held me in her arms when I was younger and put band-aids on my boo-boos, spit hate at me. That night, as I sat in my room both relieved and sad, I heard her say that I was not the child she expected I would be and that she was very disappointed. Silence! That is what she wanted from me; her loud kid that gets in trouble for being overly hyper and talkative. But you know what? No one can make me feel bad for being myself! I am proud and no one will take that away! You may be able to repress me and keep my mouth shut for a while, but not forever!"
The National Day of Silence is designed to represent the silence many Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ) people experience, often because of hate or fear of discrimination. "Everyday LGBT teens are silenced by their peers, parents, and other authorities." Red O. continues in her blog. "Some are silenced for moments, some for years, others for life. Some are bullied into silence, others are murdered into it. This Day of Silence, I will show support to those who have been muzzled in fear by giving up my voice for a day."
Those who want to participate will wear a band or sticker showing their support for LGBTQ individuals and expressing their desire to remain silent for the day. Then, between 4:00-4:15 the participants will end in a circle of reclaiming their voices and a brief demonstration between the 3C and AS building. "It is important that we all stand together to make the echo of silence roar through our communities." Red O. concluded. "Let kids know that they are not alone and that some people really do care.
The actual National Day of Silence is on April 15th. Hundreds of thousands of students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools. The annual event began after the February 12, 2008, killing of Lawrence "Larry" King, a 15-year-old student at E.O. Green Jr. High School in Oxnard, California. Larry was shot twice by fellow student, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney. Newsweek has described the shooting as one of the worst gay-bias crimes ever recorded.
