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Day of Silence

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For the internet radio protest against royalty rate hikes, see Internet radio § Day of Silence.
File:BrandDos.jpg
The Day Of Silence Logo that can be seen on the day of silence website.

The Day of Silence is an annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, and their supporters. Students take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent the silencing of LGBT students and their supporters.

Beginning in 1996, the Day of Silence is held each year in April. The next Day of Silence will be Friday, April 25, 2008.

Organization

The Day of Silence is organized as a grassroots project by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in collaboration with the United States Student Association (USSA). Students are encouraged to obtain permission from their school before organizing the event, though it is not required.

GLSEN estimated that over 450,000 students at more than 4,000 schools participated in the 2006 Day of Silence. [1]

Events

The event takes place at college, high school, and even middle school level campuses. In some cases there are middle school participants, and in very rare cases, elementary school students. On the appointed day, students maintain verbal silence either for the entire day or a portion of the day, such as during the lunch break or during the active school hours.

During their period of silence, participating students may hand out printed cards explaining the nature of their protest.

As of 2007 the "speaking cards" read:

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 in schools. 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?

This may be supplemented by additional texts or images. Some school organizers also create or purchase pins or stickers to put on lockers and t-shirts. Others dress in all black, with rainbow ribbons or gags to emphasize the cause and their presence. Also if allowed, special announcements during the day allow the event to be recognized by the school.

Ideally, the period of silence ends with a "breaking the silence" event in which participating students gather together, and participate in activism and education.

Message

The national focus of the Day of Silence is specific to ending bullying and harassment of students, particularly physical violence and verbal threats.

As with most political actions, there is passionate ongoing debate as to the specific strategies and goals. Organizers encourage Day of Silence participants to use the national template, but do support variation among participating groups. While some organizers focus the mission statement of their Day of Silence to ending institutionalized discrimination, others decide to make their message more encompassing. The Gay-Straight Alliance of Winston Churchill High School (Wayne County, Michigan) in Livonia, Michigan and Winston Churchill High School (Montgomery County, Maryland) of Potomac, Maryland, for example, have made their mission statements for the Day of Silence "To send the message that hate is not tolerated" which they consider a more personal and less politically focused sentiment. Other groups focus on the day as an opportunity for the participating students to strengthen their own personal awareness of discrimination and increase their solidarity with the LGBT community.

the April 25, 2008 "speaking cards" will read:

"Silent for Lawrence King: Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence (DOS), a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment. This year’s DOS is held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15 year-old student who was killed in school because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward building awareness and making a commitment to address these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?"

History

Created by then-student Maria Pulzetti, the first event was organized by students at the University of Virginia in 1996.

The following year Pulzetti and then 19-year-old Jessie Gilliam developed the project to be used in schools nationally. It was renamed the National Day of Silence and nearly 100 colleges and universities participated. Beginning in 1998 the day was promoted by the Day of Silence Project with double the participation of the last year.

In 2000, Gilliam, Palenchar, then GLSEN National Student Organizer Chris Tuttle, developed the proposal for the day to become an official project of GLSEN. GLSEN developed its first-ever "student leadership team" as part of the Day of Silence.

In recent years, the Day of Silence has been reported as "the largest one-day student-led grassroots action on LGBT rights in American history" [1].

This year, the Day of Silence will be held in memory of Lawrence King, an eighth grader from E.O. Green Middle School who was shot by fellow classmate Brandon McInerney.

Conservative opposition

Conservative organizations, including the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Mission America, Traditional Values Coalition, Americans for Truth, and Liberty Counsel, believe the Day of Silence to be instead a day where students, at the prompting of adult homosexual activists, celebrate a high-risk and immoral lifestyle, and encourage their peers to do likewise, by taking a victim posture and erroneously associating homosexuality with other legitimate causes, like race relations or religious tolerance[citation needed]. These groups opposed the Day of Silence in 2008 by forming a coalition urging parents to keep their kids home on the DOS if their school was observing it[citation needed].

Citing HIV/Gay Statistics

Some commentators are citing statistics on reduction longevity of Gay lifestyle compared to smoking. e.g., by citing Robert Hogg et al.(1997) Modelling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men. [2] Critics object that those statistics were taken at the height of the AIDS crisis and do not reflect current thinking. They note that the authors of the 1997 study expressed regret that their study was being used to further anti-gay bias [3] [4],

Some statistics are reported on sexually transmitted HIV/AIDS.

MSM HIV/AIDS Statistics

Statistics on HIV/AIDS among Men having Sex with Men (MSM) (whether gay, bisexual or heterosexual) are provided by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC).[5]

  • AIDS has been diagnosed for more than half a million MSM. Over 300,000 MSM with AIDS have died since the beginning of the epidemic.
  • MSM made up more than two thirds (68%) of all men living with HIV in 2005, even though only about 5% to 7% of men in the United States reported having sex with other men.
  • In a 2005 study of 5 large US cities, 46% of African American MSM were HIV-positive.

The CDC addressed the "Need for Sustained HIV Prevention for Gay and Bisexual Men". [6]

International HIV/AIDS statistics are reported by the World Health Organization

HIV/AIDS risk in Schools

The CDC has begun reporting Trends in HIV-Related Risk Behaviors Among High School Students" [7] e.g.,

"During 1991--2005, the prevalence of sexual experience decreased 13% from 54.1% to 46.8% among high school students." etc.

Vince Randall reviews legal and policy issues related to Public Schools and Alternative Lifestyles [8]

See also

  1. ^ FAQs: About the Day of Silence
  2. ^ Modelling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men, ROBERT S HOGG, et al. International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE) in 1997.
  3. ^ [http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/30/6/1499 Gay life expectancy revisited, Robert S Hogg, et al.] International Journal of Epidemiology 2001;30:1499
  4. ^ "Gay" Sex Kills, By Matt Barber, Monday, April 21, 2008, Townhall.com
  5. ^ HIV/AIDS and Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)
  6. ^ [www.cdc.gov/HIV/pubs/mmwr011400fs.pdf Need for Sustained HIV Prevention for Gay and Bisexual Men] HIV Infections Continue at High Levels Among Men of All Races with Dramatic Impact Among Men of Color, CDC Update 2000, Center for Disease Control
  7. ^ [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5531a4.htm?s_cid=mm5531a4_e"> Trends in HIV-Related Risk Behaviors Among High School Students --- United States, 1991--2005</a>
  8. ^ E. Vance Randall Public Schools and Alternative Lifestyles, Paper Presented at the Symposium on Parentlessness sponsored by the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, October 8, 2004
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