By Avanti Chajed

Gargoyle staff reporter


Posted Tuesday, April 17, 2007, The OG, news

UNI STUDENTS WILL join hundreds of thousands of their peers across the country Wednesday in observing the 11th annual Day of Silence.

The Day of Silence is a student-run event that draws attention to the bullying, discrimination, and harassment that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students experience on a daily basis.

This year 38 Uni students are scheduled to participate, meaning they will be quiet during the entire school day, both in and out of class.

The event is sponsored here by the school's Gay-Straight Alliance. Nationally the event is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.

“I am doing the Day of Silence because I believe very much in LGBT rights,” says sophomore Sheri Grill. “It's mostly about showing support.”

However, the number of Uni participants is down significantly from last year, when 80 students took part.

The first-ever Day of Silence was held in 1996 at the University of Virginia, with about 150 students participating. Ten years later, an estimated 450,000 students at nearly 4,000 K-12 schools, colleges, and universities were taking part.

Most students involved in the Day of Silence hand out “speaking cards” that say:

“Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?”

So why has the participation of Uni students decreased in recent years?

That remains an open question, but some students believe that past numbers were inflated by participants who weren't really interested in the LGBT cause; instead they wanted an excuse not to answer questions or take part in class discussions.

Last year Assistant Director Sue Kovacs sent out the following e-mail to students and parents:

“A reminder: Protest often brings with it consequences. Are you willing to pay the price or is this a game you are playing?

“Sometimes those consequences are positive as in change of heart or feelings for someone else or for an idea. Sometimes they can be negative as in a grade reduction for failure to participate in a class. Please note that instruction and the teacher in charge of the instruction is not out to ‘get' the student or to protest the Day of Silence if they ask you to communicate. Sometimes meaningful instruction must have an exchange of ideas via speech. If this is the case and the teacher requires a verbal exchange and you refuse to speak that is the cost of the protest to you. Don't blame the teacher. Chalk it up to the cost of protest for ideas that you believe in. Please also remember that selective protest — in the classroom but not in the hall — is not in the spirit of the day.”

RELATED

— Gargoyle coverage: Fighting back with silence

— Day of Silence: Official site

— National sponsor: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network