Save the Date: April 17, 2009!

Students have been asking when next year's Day of Silence will be held. We're happy to announce it will be Friday, April 17, 2009.

In deciding on a date we search the vacation and testing schedules of the top 20 largest school districts. We then search national and religious holidays and look at all the results together to find a date that works well for everyone. From this process we determined that April 17th would be best for most students in 2009.

So put it in your personal calendars and get it onto your school's schedule too. Remember, it's less than a year until the next Day of Silence!

Military base GSA: The name will never change

Stars and Stripes published a wonderful piece about the new Gay-Straight Alliance at a military base in Japan. The military, as you might expect, is typically socially conservative. So the GSA's formation was not welcomed by everyone. And yet, as the advisor put it, “I don’t think another school club has done so much in such a short time.”

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54392

Most recently, GSA spearheaded Edgren’s participation in Friday’s “National Day of Silence,” a movement started at the University of Virginia in 1996 to prevent bullying in schools. This year the event was dedicated to Lawrence King, a California middle school student who was shot and killed in February, allegedly because he was gay.

At Edgren the event drew participation beyond the GSA circle, with about 30 students wearing T-shirts and toting white boards or pen and pad to communicate in classrooms and hallways.

“Ethnic, religious, sexual differences is no reason to single someone out and treat them differently,” Heather Steele, a senior and National Honors Society member, jotted in a notebook.

...

Senior Norah Sweeney, a GSA member, said the idea was floated to change the name to “tolerance club,” but then “we’d kind of be hiding behind the name.”

“The name will never change,” says Kuntz. “There’s no reason to change this name. We’re very proud of who we are.”

You Still Can Register

Just because the Day of Silence is coming to an end for most students doesn't mean you still can't register, even after the fact. If you haven't registered, please do so here.

We use registrations to get a gauge for how much participation there was across the country. Students from a record 7,500 schools have now registered. And if someone from your school already has registered, we still like to keep track of all participation.

Thanks again for your courage today. Together, we are changing the world for the better and making schools safer for everyone.

Thank You for Being a Friend

Be our friend/fan/member/etc at any of the various social networking sites:

Facebook
Official Day of Silence page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Day-of-Silence/10621862898
Remembering Lawrence King group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8088192263
MySpace
Official Day of Silence page: http://www.myspace.com/dayofsilence
Remembering Lawrence King page: http://www.myspace.com/rememberinglawrence

Think.MTV.com
http://think.mtv.com/GLSEN/

We were met with disheartening actions...

Not all the news is positive, but students remain strong:

MINNESOTA: Hello. My Name is J.A. [name edited] and I attend [school district name].

I learned of the Day of Silence from my best friend T. earlier this week. I wanted to take part in it greatly, and we soon got other kids to join: We were all devoted supporters of the LGBT and wanted to show support by committing to stay silent the whole day.

This Morning, we did Makeup, painted Rainbows and such on our arms and clothes and went to school. We hung signs up on our lockers to spread the word. However, most of these actions were met with sour remarks, and sometimes, Violence. The signs on our lockers were torn off and shredded on the ground before them: We were being harassed by many, sometimes, Even some of our best friends.

We were met with statements such as "Oh my god...I see Faggots." or "Why do you support the Fags." and sometimes worse. One of my best friends was told "Just be like your father and kill yourself; then you can be silent forever." We spent the whole bus ride home comforting her. I am sickened that people in our school used our beliefs as an excuse to make fun of us. I honestly hope that It wont take them long to realize that what they did, is exactly what we are standing against.

We were Harassed, and we were silent. We were met with disheartening actions, but we remained silent. I am proud that I have taken part in this protest, and im positive that all 18 of my other friends were too.

Pam's Steaming for the DOS

Pam's House Blend has made the DOS blog her "pick of the week". Yay! And of course, she's covering the anti-Day of Silence protest that happened this morning out in Washington State.


Hey Pam, thanks for the links. Here's one back at ya'!
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/

Pink is the new....Silence!

Gay blogger, Pink is the New Blog, has stepped up to add their silence to the Day of Silence. They have been observing a blogging silence all day long. They've posted a DOS Speaking Card and a note that they will resume blogging at 3:00pm (We assume that's Pacific Time.)


We are all amazed at the nationwide (and beyond!) support friends and allies have been demonstrating all day and all week. Thank you so much for your energy. Together we can make 2008 the most bullying-free year on record.
http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/