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FOR 11 YEARS, STUDENTS IN THOUSANDS of high schools and colleges across the nation have held a “Day of Silence” as a way to bring attention to the oppression, discrimination and bullying many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students face in the classroom.
But many social conservative groups are denouncing the April 18 event as a way for gay activists to “promote homosexuality” with at least one group urging parents to keep their children home on the “Day of Silence” to boycott its message.
“Teenagers deserve an opportunity to study English, history, math and science — without being subjected to pro-homosexual proselytizing sanctioned by school authorities,” said Linda Harvey, president and founder of Mission America, in a news release.
“Students shouldn’t be forced to self-censor or adopt beliefs contrary to those of their parents and places of worship,” Harvey added. “Even the strongest of our junior high and high school children are not equipped to serve as frontline soldiers in this culture war.”
DARRELL TUCCI OF THE GAY, LESBIAN & Straight Education Network, which supports the “Day of Silence,” said while he respects the right for groups like Mission America to voice their opinions, in actuality they are “misrepresenting and mischaracterizing” what the event is all about.
“The day is all about bringing about awareness and having safe schools — we certainly want kids to be safe,” he said.
“I understand people might be against [homosexuality], but this day is about changing behavior, not beliefs.”
GLSEN’s 2005 National School Climate Survey found that more than 64 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students reported verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and 29 percent reported missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety.
The Day of Silence is one way students and their allies are making anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling unacceptable in America’s schools, Tucci said.
Currently, some 3,000 schools across the U.S., including several in Georgia, have registered to take part in the “Day of Silence” and students are registering on an average of 100 per day, he added. The list is not made public on GLSEN’s website, however, Tucci said.
As part of the “Day of Silence,” participating students promise to remain mute all day and hand out cards to classmates stating:
“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?”
ALSO THROWING THEMSELVES INTO the anti-“Day of Silence” fray is the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. For the third year in a row, it is holding its “Day of Truth” on the day after the “Day of Silence” as a way “to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective,” according to the legal group’s website.
The ADF encourages students to go to school April 19 and wear “Day of Truth” T-shirts and pass out cards that state: “I am speaking the Truth to break the silence. Silence isn’t freedom. It’s a constraint. Truth tolerates open discussion, because the Truth emerges when healthy discourse is allowed. By proclaiming the Truth in love, hurts will be halted, hearts will be healed, and lives will be saved.”
The ADF website also states the “Day of Silence” is part of GLSEN’s “overall strategy to change how our society perceives homosexual behavior.”
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