Poets engage in powerful silence

feature 2, Issue 26, Ricardo Pitones, Campus Life - By Ricardo Pitones on Thursday, April 21, 2011 - 22:48

On April 15, students all over campus and all across the country fought for an end to harassment through silent protest. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) sponsors the National Day of Silence every year in an attempt to stop bullying.

The day is intended to recreate the silencing effect many students face because of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in school. From sunrise to sunset students participating in the event did not speak. The students also wore a light blue shirt with the word “silent” boldly printed on the front. This was to show how many LGBT students decide to keep quiet rather than speak out for fear of rejection from society according to www.DayofSilence.org.

The website also states that students of all beliefs, backgrounds and sexual orientations can participate and that it is a positive learning experience. “It brought to my attention all the things people were being discriminated for like being gay and lesbian, it just made me think,” first-year Krizia Rocha said.

Students who participated in National Day of Silence had a sense of accomplishment. “I was doing a presentation on the LGBT community here at Whittier College and this was a good way to learn about it and be an ally,” first-year Mirta Ortiz said.

The event has been held every year since 1996. It first took place in the University of Virginia and has spread all over the country since then. Over the past few years the Day of Silence has been reported as “the largest one-day student-led grassroots action on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and transgendered rights in American history” according to GLSEN.

President of TOBGLAD Colleen Mundy also felt that having the Day of Silence at our school was important. “Not only is it a successful event annually, Whittier has proven its participation to be very high and has the community’s support. TOBGLAD wanted to be part of it again,” Mundy said. It also allowed students to see how they take things for granted. “It’s important to me because it’s important in general to recognize your personal privilege and not be oppressed in ways others are. It is an important message via silence,” Mundy said.

The National Day of Silence has left an impact on many Whittier students by allowing them to recognize that many are silenced daily because of bullying and hate. With actions of tolerance that organizations like GLSEN and TOBGLAD promote, students can be made aware of injustices in the community.