On Friday, Apr. 17, Committed to Action club sponsored Day of Silence, a day in which many students take a vow of silence to show support for the LGBTQ community.
Day of Silence is a national event which started in 1996. The first Day of Silence was held at the University of Virginia, and over 150 students participated. In 1997, over 100 different colleges held a day of silence.
Today, it is the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
“The goal of the day is definitely to bring awareness to people who are bullied for being gay,” said Rachel Hess, a Committed to Action club sponsor and English teacher at New Trier.
All the money raised from the tee shirt sales at New Trier will go towards the Center on Halsted, a community center for LGBTQ teens in Chicago. Over 1000 teens walk through the Center on Halsted’s door each day.
“Committed to Action is an activist club. It fights homophobia wherever we see it. We do different projects besides Day of Silence, which is our biggest project. We did a bake sale to raise money for the Trevor Project, which is a suicide prevention hotline for gay teens,” said Hess.
But why is the Day of Silence important? In GLSENs 2009 National School Climate Survey, nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and more than 30% report missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety.
According to Dosomething.org, a website devoted to social change, 43% of LGBT people live in an unwelcoming environment, and 80% of gay and lesbian youth report severe social isolation. The Trevor Project states that LGBT youth are 4 times more likely, and questioning youth are 3 times more likely, to attempt suicide than their straight peers.
“Day of Silence is a good thing for the people who personally know somebody or are themselves apart of the LBGTQ community,” said junior Ceejay Xiong. “However, I don’t think people who are unaffected care enough to participate.
“I will be participating in Day of Silence because I think it’s important that we are aware of all the voices that have been silenced over the years and essentially give a voice to those who can no longer use theirs,” said junior Emmanuelle Haye.
According to the Day of Silence website, you have the right to participate in Day of Silence between classes, and before and after school. However, you may not have the right to stay silent during class if a teacher wishes you to speak. Hess seemed to think that New Trier would not have that issue.
“I think one nice thing is that the administrators at New Trier are behind it,” said Hess. “They send out emails to all of the staff telling them that they are in favor of the day.”
Students seem to be split on whether or not enough is being done throughout the school to support LGBTQ classmates.
Some believe the New Trier community accepts students who are LGBT. “I have witnessed people come out on numerous occasions and they are all supported by their peers. I think almost everybody feels comfortable coming out at New Trier,” said Xiong. Others, however, feel the school isn’t doing enough throughout the school year.
“I think we as New Trier community need to take more steps than just one day to show support for those who might feel like they can’t be who they are in a place where everyone should be equal,” said Haye.
Dosomething.org reports that young people who are LGBT and who are “out” to their immediate families report feeling happier than those who aren’t.
Teacher support of the day has grown in the last several years. Even though many still have to talk, they wear rainbow ribbons or gray shirts to signal that they are an ally in the cause.