A Day of Silence

Can you stay silent for more than 10 minutes? Some students do it for an entire day for one reason only to support the LGBT. A Day of Silence, which was held on April 15th, is an annual event organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which is an organization founded in 1990, that seeks to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in K-12 schools, to bring attention to how so many LGBTQ youth are silenced due to bullying and harassment.  That’s why every year hundreds of thousands of students across the world take a vow of silence on a Friday in April, including many Alisal students.

Last year was the first time that the students were introduced to “A Day of Silence” as a school event.  “The Be Yourself Club began this event at Alisal because we decided that we needed to show our support to the people who were silenced due to bullying and discrimination around the world. We wanted to see how supportive our classmates are,” said Uriel Fletes. Natalie Bernasconi, the advisor for the club, wanted the students who were participating to learn “how powerful their actions are toward others.” She also wanted the non-participants to see how their action affect other is ways they don’t even know. The club’s purpose was to show that we often take for granted that our voices can be heard. Students who are bullied lose their voice and The Day of Silence lets those students know they are not alone, and we stand alongside of them in support.

This year the event was more significant because one teacher took a vow of silence. English teacher Mireya Gutierrez decided to participate in the Day of Silence because she believes we need more awareness about what the LGBT community goes through. “It is an endless struggle and it often leads to silence, depression, and suicide,” said Gutierrez. She has some close friends that have gone through struggles as adults. She supports the LGBT community because she is tired of hearing derogatory terms thrown around like, “That’s gay” or “You’re a fa**ot.” She said, “I am glad The Be Yourself Club is doing this event because they are standing up for what they believe in. I am standing up with the club because I believe it is right.”

Jovani Gomez, a sophomore, was one of many participants in the event. “I wanted to support my people and I saw an opportunity and I took it.” He felt that no one understood what they were doing and wanted to make him talk but he resisted and didn’t talk to them. He wanted his fellow peers to see and reflect on each of their action they do. “I thought I couldn’t keep quiet, but at the end of the day I realized I achieved it. I will definitely do this again next year to show my support again. Maryceli Pulido said, “I felt a little weird to see my teacher with tape on her mouth. Then I realized she was supporting the LGBT and I felt proud of her because she was the only teacher I knew that did it.” Other students also took notice. “I was glad that Ms.Gutierrez did it and showed her support,” said Victor Martinez.

Some students hope to do this next year and get more students involved with this school event. “Next year we are planning to increase participation and raise more awareness among the student body,” said Fletes. “It went well because more students are becoming aware of what they say.”

 

To learn more about A Day of Silence, visit this site.