Be silent
Talk
Wear red
Wear rainbow
Wear any color
Tweet the Silence
Silence your tweets
Blog the silence
Silence your blog
Whatever you do, be respectful, especially of others who are observing the Day of Silence, but bring attention to the issues of anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harrasment in schools.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
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42 comments:
Too bad I can't tell my professor that I am unable to participate in our discussion class friday:(
Liberty High School in Bealeton, Virginia has instructed the entire student body that they are NOT allowed to NOT SPEAK TODAY on the National Day of Silence!
i think dis is rediculus these are just words,people have to learn it doesnt matter what other people think,do you,because in the end they will still have something to say whether good or bad.they are just upset because they see your happy so they try to bring you down because they down.
DUNN DADA
I'm doing DOS right now, but part of my friends are in middle school. I gave them the cards and the stickers to wear, but their princepal took them up!
D:< HOW DARE HE!
Can anyone confirm the above comment? If this is true, people should email their disgust at this. Especially give their mission statement:
Liberty High School Mission Statement
It is the mission of Liberty High School, in partnership with students, home, and community, to create lifelong learners who will be socially, politically, and environmentally responsible citizens that make positive contributions to our increasingly complex and diverse society.
im doing it :]
Crothersville Indiana.
people here are so prejudice a few kids at my school are making fun of people who choose to be silent
i wont talk period and if anyone in my school has a problem with that then please i beg you come say somthing to me cuz at that moment you will be sent to the hospital. RESPECT THE DAY OF SILENCE!!!
I think anyone who hears a word of prejudice should become silent at that point. It makes a greater statement in the individual environments where tolerance is lowest.
I'm sorry Liberty High School. I'm sorry that you're school seems to be controled by someone who is narrow minded and blind. Go against it and show them the power of silence!
l am being silent despite a graded oral project that is worth 15 percent of my final grade. l already have a 104 in that class, so it wont hurt me too much. Yay for being an A+ bisexual student. The only thing that this will do is kill my chances at becoming valedictorian. Oh well, it's worth it.
As the mother of a gay son, I will do my best to get the word out. I had not heard of this observation and I wish I had!
My son was bullyed in school and I am just thankful he did not follow the path that so many have with self injury.
Strength to all GLBT and family.
My college is a catholic one and oh the nasty stares I've received =/
As a mom of a 12yo bi and 15yo trans... I'm supporting them 100%. I love them for who they are, not who society wants them to be!
Yeah GLBT! Am hetero, but have a trans son(daughter). Am fortunate to teach at a large university in CA, where this day is widely respected. Our son/daughter has a large group at (public) school, and they are meeting now with supportive faculty, several of who are GBLT.
You all have our full support.
troy high school ohio.
so far, my spanish teacher has forced me to talk. and i have been cussed out by one boy in my public speaking class. and have been called stupid by tons of people.
surprisingly, i do not care. one bit. and i cannot help to sit here and smile in silence.
silence is recognition, recognition is power, power is change, and change is needed.
i am doing it right now at Mainland high in Florida
im doing it too!
I wish that I didn't live in such a christian town where everyone believes in the same thing and that Homosexuals are wrong. I can observe the day of silence with my friends and very few classmates. I just wish that everyone can come past their beliefs and relize that no where in the bible does it say that homosexuals are wrong and bad. I'm goning to try my best to keep as quiet as i can today but seeing as how this town is i dont know how long i can really last in school with teachers thinking that its wrong and possibly getting in trouble, i wouldnt mind getting in trouble but its my last year and i really need to graduate so getting in trouble would cause some problems with my graudation. But in the end i hope that i make a few more people understand that Homosexuals arn't any different from anyone else and that we should all be treated the same. So good luck everyone on your National Day of Silence.
I believe that this day will show some people that they need to respect GLBT's and not judge them for their sexual orientation. I live in small, religious town of Mobridge, South Dakota (but none of you have heard of it) But yea the people here are so against GLBT's that if you are you better not tell anyone because it will get around very fast and then the looks and stares start. Well im gonna be silent today for myself and all of my friends and relitatives who are Homosexual! Yay for standing up!!!
I'm doing it today... Someone already called me a freak for deciding to do it... It's their problem... I feel like this should be recongnized by all schools publically...
You know it is rather annoying at my school. I am participating of course but there are a number of people who are my friends who arent celebrating it. This of course if fine but the annoying part is the fact that they are trying to get all the participants to break their silence and make our cause null and void. I think the best way to observe is to actually spread the word. possibly not the day of but before or after. Because otherwise alls the student body sees is a bunch of dressed up kids not talking. So as much as not speaking, speaking is just as essential to this cause. I would make sure that if i broke my pledge to atleast make the words i say worth it and not some meaningless thought. Something I would like to hear about from others is how do you feel and what do you think when you see other people clearly breaking their pledge?
-Shh.....-
At my school last year, it was cool. Me and my girlfriend where the first "out" gay couple that we knew of, and the support we had gotten was amazing, but this year it's kind of low. But it's still nice. I get nodded from my friends and other random people at school when I see them into the halls. We all support and love each other, thats the way it should be! Don't break the silence!
iam doing DOS right its amazing how some people dont take it seriousky both its is going to be woth it for all those LGBT people i love those people
they are AWSOME DUDE!! ;D
KELLy High schOoL iN iLLiNOIz ROCKZ!!WE ALL DOING IT INCLUDING SOME TEACHERRZ =]
Re: Liberty High School - would love to know more details about what exactly is not allowed. It is within the school's rights to say you must speak during class.
its very interesting at my school...since i go to the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, we have so many LGB's, rarely T's. Since our schools in the middle of the ghetto, tons of middle and highschoolers are saying that its dumb that we arent straight and that we are different and that doing this isnt gonna help, but for some reason, I personally feel like were making a connection with the people, because SO many people are doing the same as me.
our school said that it was ok to do the "DONT TALK" part but we cant do the red tape
I am doing day of silence now and my teachers respect my commitment! yay!
haha.... I graduated Liberty High School in 2002... there were alot of things you weren't allowed to do or protest. Good education there... but thats about it.
I have a sister who chooses to be lesbian, another sister who is finding out who she is, and even though I dont personally agree with those life styles does not mean I need to shut them out of my life or love them any less.
The beauty of being a human being is having the right to chose for ourselves and everyone should have that right to do so. I support choices, not having them stripped away from us. I support silence.
I believe that preaching a divisive behavior, like being silent when you are at work or in school and you may need to speak, is the antithesis of what we want to achieve. It's obvious from reading all of the self rightous and childish posts on here by participants that this activity doesn't make anyone feel good except the immature kids who are so thrilled to be doing something they think is 'cool'or 'edgy', and the misguided folks who haven't thought through what they can REALLY do to effect change. I'm pro freedom but you can count me out of this disruptive and disrespectful activity. Change through peace!
PS: Walking around behaving supercilious and being silent is NOT socially responsible. It's divisive and disrespecfutl! If the anti gays did this we'd be all over it, complaining about how selfish and disruptive they are being! In this case, schools have a right to disallow this activity!
I am a teacher in the Rochester City School District in Rochester, NY and when I was in high school, I participated in the DOS with our chapter of the LGBT Alliance. When my students walked in today with the DOS stickers and the tape across their mouths (that's new, but I liked it) I was overjoyed that they were sacrificing socialization to get a point across. I am very proud of my students for understanding that this is an issue that should be out in the open.
Even our school Principal sent the link to this page to our entire school and asked us to respect the choice that our students were making today. I am very blessed to be in such a tolerant, open-minded and fantastic community.
WOW! THIS IS CRAZY!
Hello all...I just found out about this DOS , but not in a good way. Seems there is a middle school, Giunta Middle School in Hillborough county, Florida, where some students are being told by the teachers...as directed by the PRINCIPAL directly, that they are..."Not to be allowed to participate." The teachers are taking the signs and throwing them away. Hmmm....interesting. Perhaps someone should teach a class on human rights in that school, and make it mandatory for the principal to attend.
I think it is clear what side some schools' main authority figures are taking on this matter. When you force your students to speak on a day such as today, you are indeed becoming one of the bullies they are trying to "speak out" (pardon the pun) against. Perhaps its time that our disciplinarians get trained on how to be decent human beings, instead of bullies. It seems some people never truly grow up. It is the playground all over again. This time between the teachers and administrators. Who will break up this fight?
Today is a very important day for me. As a fellow GBLT I have been subjected to harsh bullying. This has to stop especially when an eleven year old boy ends his life because of it! People need to THINK BEFORE they talk/type!
At Sandersdon High School in Raleigh, NC, a large percent of the student body is doing DOS. Two teachers are as well, and one even gave another kid detention because she said "Gay people are stupid, and so is Day of Silence."
I'm Bisexual, so it enraged me. and a bunch of other people. Love is love, and love is always right.
LONG LIVE LGBT!
people have made fun of me for supporting gays and i just srugg because i dont care what they think.
FCHS, Pennsylvania.
This is hard in such a small, narrow-minded town. My friends don't seem to understand the point of being silent. They think it's a game where they try and get me to talk. All day they've been asking my questions and trying to catch me off guard. I said three words last period,without thinking, and now their running around telling everybody that I lost! I know it's how they were raised, and they don't know any better, but I wish I had friends who understood me.
Silence is Golden. You should see the texting and writing going on here. Hang in there people, don't run away or give in. Change will happen. Even though we now live in California, we yelled for joy when Vermont (where I grew up) passed the Gay Marriage Bill. Our son is trans, grew up knowing more gay/lesbian people than hetero, all our friends. So we happen to be hetero. Our best friends are not, and we like life this way.
Our love to all.
APOLLO HIGH SCHOOL
OWENSBORO, KY.
This would be my 2nd year doing this, and I have to say that this year the "religious" teachers in this school are the ones giving out punishments.
A boy in one of the classes here got a referral to the principal's office for not talking. The boy has remained silent all day long, and he's still going strong. But the teachers are looking down upon us for showing respect...
I dont get it?
>:(
I wasn't really able to stay quiet until after my first period class (presentation in French that absolutely required that I speak), but after that I stayed quiet all day. And I was glad to see my friends participating in it, too. It made me feel like a part of something. And even my friends who didn't participate or broke the silence early understood why I was only talking through notes on the backs of worksheets today.
I took a lot of stuff today from participating in DOS. I got called many names,pushed in the halls,and almost spit on, but they couldn't break me! You don't have to like them, or even be friends with them, just accept them.
Even the ACLU says students do not have the right to remain silent in class without teacher approval. Please tell the truth.
"You do NOT have a right to remain silent during class time if a teacher asks you to speak. If you want to stay quiet during class on Day of Silence, we recommend that you talk to your teachers ahead of time, tell them what you plan to do, and ask them if it would be okay for you to communicate on that day in writing. Most teachers will probably say yes."
to rebecca I'm not sure how you find being silent disrepectful or disruptive. we are silent big freakin deal. for all the soldiers who have died we as a country hold a DOS for them to show respect. Not talking is avoiding conflict. If a person has to speak for a legit reason no one will care. some students just hold silent lunchs or only remain silent to their peers and freinds and talk in class as needed.
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