Brody's Notes... 15th Annual Day Of Silence Today- Successful According To Organisers

GLSEN Executive Director, Dr. Eliza Byard  Photo Courtesy Of GLSEN

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Apr 16 | School campuses across the country were quieter as hundreds of thousands of students in middle, senior high, and universities participated in the 15th annual national Day of Silence today. In a message to DOS participants from GLSEN Executive Director, Dr. Eliza Byard, wrote:

The Day of Silence, perhaps more than any other day on the calendar, makes visible the efforts of amazing student leaders and remarkable community volunteers all over the country. I am so proud of the partnership that GLSEN has had with Day of Silence organizers everywhere for the past decade. Together, we have built this event into a powerful annual reminder of the urgent need for action on anti-LGBT behavior and bias in our schools. 

I cannot thank you enough for your courage and leadership. As you go through your day, remember that you are not alone. Today your efforts are part of a nationwide effort involving hundreds of thousands of other students in all fifty states. The numbers we know so far indicate that we are on our way to the biggest nationwide observance of the Day of Silence yet!

The number of individual students registered is up 60% from last year, and the number of individual schools represented is up 35%.

According to Facebook, nearly 42,000 persons had signed up for a Facebook page devoted exclusively to the DOS efforts by noon Friday.

In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, high school students walking into school on Friday entered the school lobby to find another group of students in silent protest, further illustrated with wide bands of tape over their mouths. More than 100 participants came together at the high school to pass out cards, getting people to pledge against using hate speech and present informational displays. 

"The Day of Silence," according to a statement written by organizers at the school, "is especially relevant to our area because there is still a lot of anti-LGBTQ comments and bullying that isn't always noticed. We hope that the event will work towards ending some of the silence and hatred students face."

Participating students, regardless of their sexual orientation, choose to not speak for the day and instead pass out "speaking cards" that read: 

"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 bullying, name-calling and harassment. 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." 

Anti-Gay Christian activists & family advocacy groups warn that GLSEN is using the day to try to indoctrinate kids and force a pro-gay agenda into schools — something they want kept out of class entirely.

"I think that we shouldn't be exploiting public education for this," said Laurie Higgins, director of school advocacy for the Illinois Family Institute. "There are better ways to use taxpayer money. We send our kids there to learn the subject matter, not ... to be unwillingly exposed to political protest during instructional time."

Critics of the Day Of Silence say the anti-bullying message could have been spread after hours and off-campus, but GLSEN's choice of venue shows the group's intent for the schools.

"Obviously this is intended to make an impact on the educational environment — otherwise they wouldn't be doing it at school," said Bryan Fischer, director of issues analysis at the American Family Institute. "The only impact it could possibly have would be to interfere with class."

Higgins and Fischer called on parents to withdraw their children from classes that participate in the Day of Silence, a move Higgins compared to "civil disobedience" after years of being ignored by school officials.
"This is definitely a last-resort option as school administrators have not listened to parents and teachers. Teachers who object to this are afraid to say anything, afraid of personal and professional repercussions." Higgins was quoted speaking in an interview with Fox News.
Joe Jervis reported on his Joe.My.God blogspot:

"Every child that stays home on Friday in protest will take almost $100, in California at least, from the government school system in the form of ADA -- average daily attendance funds," (Save California's Randy Thomasson] explains. "We think that's appropriate punishment for a school district that allows homosexual indoctrination of children." He adds that it is the only type of lesson to be learned for public schools which value money much more than morality.Other groups calling for parents to keep their children at home as a protest of the Day of Silence include the American Family Association and the Illinois Family Institute.

According to Twitter, Facebook and online blog posts supplemented by news & media reports, the Day of Silence was apparently successful and participation exceeded forecasts by event organisers across the nation.