1600 High Schools stage silent action for support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender

Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network ^ | 4/8/02 | Press Release

[Andy from Beaverton]

April 8, 2002
Students in More Than 1600 High Schools and Colleges Say "No Way" to Anti-LGBT Harassment

links
	Day of Silence Project

Day of Silence Project
	Students Fight Discrimination With Sound of Silence (CA)
	Day of Silence to Reverberate in Wisconsin Schools (WI)
	Five Reasons Why Schools Should Support the Day of Silence

National
	Lesbian Teen Testifies Against Internet Filtering (PA)
	Day of Silence Gets a Capitol Boost From Representative Engel
	Students in More than 700 High Schools, Universities Plan for Day of Silence

NEW YORK, NY -- Students in over sixteen hundred high schools and colleges, representing 49 states, will be participating in the April 10 Day of Silence -- an effort aimed at drawing attention to the discrimination and harassment faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth in schools. According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the record level of participation marks an 800% increase over last year.

"We are inspired by the incredible number of students who will be silently yet powerfully standing up for themselves, their friends, and the ideals of safety and respect for all," said GLSEN Deputy Executive Director Eliza Byard. "For many schools, students will be offering a first-ever lesson on the toll harassment takes -- and we hope their administrators and classmates listen closely."

The Day of Silence Project, the largest student-led action on LGBT issues in the country,

is a day on which participants take a vow of silence to peacefully protest the discrimination and harassment faced by LGBT people. Instead of speaking, participants hand out speaking cards printed with a message that explains why they have chosen not to talk. The event originated at the University of Virginia in 1996, after then-18-year-old student and Day of Silence founder Maria Pulzetti wrote a paper on non-violent protest. This year, 80% of participating students are in high schools.

"Students have used the Day for a number of years to draw attention to a serious school safety issue that schools have been slow to address," continued Byard, noting GLSEN’s 2001 National School Climate Survey, which found that 4 out of 5 LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school. In the same study, 30% reported missing at least one day of school in the past month due to fear for their physical safety.

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GLSEN is the largest national network of parents, students, educators and others working to end anti- LGBT bias in K-12 schools. Established nationally in 1995, the organization has become one of the nation’s leading voices for equality and safety in America’s educational system. Visit www.glsen.org for more information. To learn more about the Day of Silence Project, or to see a list of participating schools, visit www.dayofsilence.org.

[Andy from Beaverton]

Click Here to see if your local high school is being indoctrinated.

"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?" - Quote from "speaking cards" passed out by participants during the Day of Silence.

	- (03.22.02) Take Action by contacting your Representatives... - (03.7.02) Find local workshops, rallies in new "events" section...

[Hawkeye's Girl]

Don't forget my college. The Queer Union here is all excited about it :P

[dc-zoo]

This country really is going to the dogs. Or should I say gone.

[toenail]

Great idea. Hell, see if they'll make it a full year.

[LarryLied]

Must be all the losers who can't get a date.Going to such an event is not the type of thing which attract the women I knew to men.

[Salvation]

NEA and GLSEN Seek to Stifle Free Speech

[fatima]

where do the parents stand,warning do not go to your local highschnool dance parents,Catholics and non Catholics.MTV Rules

[Askel5]

The Homosexual is Uncle Sam's Ideal Citizen.

[gg188]

Seems like the REAL. iconoclasts, the real rebels, would organize the loudest, rowdiest rock concert that day, right beside wherever all the silent protesters were. (Of course, NOW, in Orwell's and Clinton's AMERIKA, in which the REBELS have taken OVER, there ARE no iconoclasts. The ICONOCLASTS are IN CHARGE, and now, EVERYONE IS THE SAME, and there is ENFORCED CONFORMITY. It's like, everyone wears the same ribbon. It's like, at the Oscars, no one wore an American flag. Everyone wears an Aids ribbon. Certain charities are verboten. Certain causes are de rigueur. The sameness of 1984. If the PARTY LINE says, "You VEEEAL BE ZILINT" [spoken with faux nazi accent], then well, everyone will be silent, or the politically correct SS will come after you.

[Reagan is King]

Yah right. 1600 High Schools. Just like there was 1 million Moms in the "Million Mom March". Surely we can trust a source like the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to give us the truth. Losers.

[Jeff Chandler]

Caption this Picture

[RLK]

It has come to this...

[joyce11111]

Those punks need a good sound thrashing!

[in the Arena]

They're a bunch of liars also. There are less than 1300 schools listed on the site.

I wonder if the schools listed on the web site realize that their names are being used and appear to be condoing the action ?

[Diddle E. Squat]

'bought time they shut up. Any way to get this extended from one day to a year?

Nice timing, with America disgusted by that deaf lesbian child abuse couple. Wonder if a Dalmation is the official mascot?

[LarryLied]

Your scenario is a perfect set up to get women. Wish I was in HS again. All the girly men go to the gay whatever it is and the guys who are guys and women who are women find each other.

[Salman]

Caption this Picture

They sure don't look silent.
Or are their mouths open for some other reason?

[Dan from Michigan]

Is that a (Fill in the blank) or are you happy to see me.

[Issaquahking]

You asked for a caption this?

Monica's replacements!

[Governor StrangeReno]

'welcome to the world of aids'