More "Day of Silence" Articles

The Morning Call
Students hope their silence is deafening
For Sam Smith, it was an ordeal he sometimes endured five times a day. As the openly gay junior walked the crowded hallways of Nazareth Area High School between classes, he frequently became a magnet for anti-gay insults, he said.Things got worse one day last October. As he talked with a friend outside the school, he was pushed by a student in a group of students standing near him.The students later told school authorities that Smith was shoved accidentally when he walked into their horseplay. But Smith said he was pushed more than once and he heard the word ''fag.''Today, Smith will join thousands of students around the country in Day of Silence to call attention to the harassment that gay, lesbian and transgendered students face in schools. In its 12th year, Day of Silence is recognized by gay and straight students in several Lehigh Valley districts as a way to unify against the bullying that has made school a daily gantlet for many gay students.

Smith, 17, plans to host a vigil at S. Main and Center streets in Nazareth this afternoon.Elsewhere, a group of Freedom High School students is organizing events, said Kayla O'Connor, a Freedom guidance counselor who advises the Bethlehem Township school's gay-straight alliance, an extracurricular club for any student interested in promoting tolerance.
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Xtra.ca
Winnipeg holds vigil for National Day of Silence
HATE CRIMES / Event marks the deaths of US gay teen and local trans woman
On an unseasonably cold night in Winnipeg, a small group gathered at the Manitoba legislature to commemorate a California teen who was murdered because of his sexuality and to remember a local trans woman who was killed in March.

With candles in hand, the group held a vigil for Lawrence King who was only 15 years old when he was gunned down by a fellow classmate. King, who had recently come out to his friends and family as gay, was harassed at his high school because of his sexuality. In the early morning of Feb 12, a 14-year-old student that King had given a valentine card two days before walked into a classroom and shot King twice in the back of the head.

"When I heard about Lawrence's death I was shocked and I couldn't just sit around and not do anything so I decided to organize an event," says Joshua Huppe, co-organizer of the Apr 25 vigil in Winnipeg. "Homophobia is happening every day and people aren't really paying attention to it... something has to happen in order for it to change."

Thousands of people across North America attended vigils on Apr 25, the National Day of Silence, to remember Lawrence King and other queer youth that have been harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
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The Arkansas Traveler
P.R.I.D.E. celebrates Day of Silence with dance
Walter Lang and his partner moved across the dance floor with all eyes on them. Around them, gay and straight couples stood chatting and dancing, as well.

Lang was one of many UA students and members of the UA organization P.R.I.D.E (People Respecting Individual Differences and Equality) celebrating the National Day of Silence with a prom at the Unitarian Universalists Church Friday.

The Day of Silence is a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and student-led day of action when concerned students - from middle school to college - take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies, according to the Day of Silence Web site.

This year's Day of Silence was held in honor of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old student from Oxnard, Calif., who was shot and killed on Feb. 12 by a 14-year-old classmate because of King's sexual orientation and gender expression, according to the Day of Silence Web site.

"The Day of Silence can be a very unhappy event. We [wanted] to make it upbeat and bring some joy to everyone's day," said Jessica Lange, vice president of public relations.Lange said P.R.I.D.E encourages students to speak up in class but stay silent during other times, such as lunch.

At the end of the day, people traditionally get together to break the silence and talk about their days. P.R.I.D.E members wanted to do some of the traditional things, but they also wanted to have an opportunity to dress up like other organizations do, Lange said.
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