Politics
Social Conservatives Take Aim at Day of Silence School Event Focused on Gay Issues
Backers say event focuses on bullying and harassment, while critics say it politicizes the classroom
Around the State
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is encouraging students in schools across the nation to be silent for the entire day on Friday to highlight their opposition to bullying and attacks against gays -- but social and religious conservatives are attacking the Day of Silence (DOS) event.
According to organizers, more than 20,000 students from some 7,500 schools registered to participate in the 2010 DOS, while hundreds of thousands actually took part. Students will remain silent all day, except when called on during class, to focus on anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) insults, bullying and harassment.
“The Day of Silence is a symbolic representation of the silencing effect young people across the country experience every day because of anti-LGBT bullying,” said Eliza Byard, executive director of GLSEN. “For far too long we as a nation have ignored the pervasive problem of anti-LGBT bullying. While we at GLSEN are working to improve the situation in schools for LGBT youth and those perceived to be LGBT, students across the country are coming together on the Day of Silence to say it needs to get better now.”
GLSEN encourages students taking part to pass out cards with the following message:
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.
The DOS activities won the legal backing of the ACLU and Lambda Legal, an organization that works on same-sex issues.
“The purpose is to silently and peacefully protest anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) bullying, harassment, and name-calling,” noted Christine Sun, a senior counsel working with the ACLU LGBT Project, in a letter sent out to parents and educators. “As evidenced by recent tragedies, awareness and attention to this issue is needed now, more than ever. Because students who are targeted for anti-gay or anti-transgender bullying often do not identify as LGBT, the Day of Silence represents a peaceful protest of a problem that affects all students, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“On April 15, 2011, students will be taking a vow of silence to represent the silence faced by LGBT people and their allies every day,” added Sun. “Typically, on the Day of Silence, rather than speaking, participants hand out ‘speaking cards’ explaining their reasons for remaining silent throughout the day. There are numerous ways in which Day of Silence participants can meet their academic responsibilities without speaking. With the support of teachers, students could lead or take part in a ‘silent lesson’ or complete a written assignment.”
Conservatives took aim at the DOS activities, arguing that they turned the classroom into a political battleground.
David Caton, the executive director of the Florida Family Association (FFA), attacked the event on Wednesday, claiming it “politicizes the classroom for ideological purposes.”
“The explicit purpose of DOS is to encourage sympathy and support for students involved in homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors whose voices have been allegedly silenced by the disapproval of society,” added Caton. “The implicit purpose is to undermine the belief that homosexuality and cross-dressing are immoral. Parents should no longer passively countenance the political usurpation of public school classrooms through student silence.”
Caton encouraged parents to monitor their children’s school to see what would happen on Friday -- and pull their children out of school for the day if necessary.
According to organizers, more than 20,000 students from some 7,500 schools registered to participate in the 2010 DOS, while hundreds of thousands actually took part. Students will remain silent all day, except when called on during class, to focus on anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) insults, bullying and harassment.
“The Day of Silence is a symbolic representation of the silencing effect young people across the country experience every day because of anti-LGBT bullying,” said Eliza Byard, executive director of GLSEN. “For far too long we as a nation have ignored the pervasive problem of anti-LGBT bullying. While we at GLSEN are working to improve the situation in schools for LGBT youth and those perceived to be LGBT, students across the country are coming together on the Day of Silence to say it needs to get better now.”
GLSEN encourages students taking part to pass out cards with the following message:
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.
The DOS activities won the legal backing of the ACLU and Lambda Legal, an organization that works on same-sex issues.
“The purpose is to silently and peacefully protest anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) bullying, harassment, and name-calling,” noted Christine Sun, a senior counsel working with the ACLU LGBT Project, in a letter sent out to parents and educators. “As evidenced by recent tragedies, awareness and attention to this issue is needed now, more than ever. Because students who are targeted for anti-gay or anti-transgender bullying often do not identify as LGBT, the Day of Silence represents a peaceful protest of a problem that affects all students, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“On April 15, 2011, students will be taking a vow of silence to represent the silence faced by LGBT people and their allies every day,” added Sun. “Typically, on the Day of Silence, rather than speaking, participants hand out ‘speaking cards’ explaining their reasons for remaining silent throughout the day. There are numerous ways in which Day of Silence participants can meet their academic responsibilities without speaking. With the support of teachers, students could lead or take part in a ‘silent lesson’ or complete a written assignment.”
Conservatives took aim at the DOS activities, arguing that they turned the classroom into a political battleground.
David Caton, the executive director of the Florida Family Association (FFA), attacked the event on Wednesday, claiming it “politicizes the classroom for ideological purposes.”
“The explicit purpose of DOS is to encourage sympathy and support for students involved in homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors whose voices have been allegedly silenced by the disapproval of society,” added Caton. “The implicit purpose is to undermine the belief that homosexuality and cross-dressing are immoral. Parents should no longer passively countenance the political usurpation of public school classrooms through student silence.”
Caton encouraged parents to monitor their children’s school to see what would happen on Friday -- and pull their children out of school for the day if necessary.
Comments (2)
Fat kids get bullied, red headed kids get bullied, kids with warts get bullied, kids with a lisp get bullied, kids with an accent get bullied, small kids get bullied, kids that are just kids get bullied for no other reason than just being picked out by a bully.
Why does this group think they are any different? Why aren't all of these types of kids included on that list on the card that they want passed out? Why is the ACLU defending them and not all of these other kids who make up 1000% more kids than this class of kids?
Just stop this s*** I tell you before you do any more harm than you already have, and that is a lot.