If you’ve been following GLSEN's webpage, or the GLSEN or Day of Silence Twitter, you’ve probably heard about Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover. On Monday, April 6 Carl hung himself in his bedroom with an electrical cord. Carl experienced extreme amounts of anti-gay bullying at his school in Springfield, MA. [corrected 4/15] He was only 11 years old.
Tragedies such as this serve as an extreme reminder that schools are not safe. That's why it’s as important as ever for all of us stand against anti-LGBT bullying together.
On April 17 you will make a strong statement against anti-LGBT bullying in schools. By participating in the Day of Silence you will represent all students who have felt silenced by the bullying and harassment they experience in schools every day. Most importantly, you will be taking a step towards making your school and all schools safer. And, as we have been so sadly reminded, that’s exactly what we need right now.
Thank you for all the amazing work you do to make schools safe for all students, and keep the ideas coming on how you can have an amazing and impactful Day of Silence! What are you going to do to end the silence?
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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4 comments:
I don't know what to do a ton of people are threating to jump and or murder the students participating, for a while they were just threating me becuase I was the one that started it at my school. I don't want to put anyone else at risk but,I alsodon't want to stop the day at my school. I've been fighting so hard to have it here. I never believed the threats but, I can not ignore them now that it's not just me that may or may not be attacked. I can't tell the principles at my school becuase, they haven't done anything about simallar issues in the past. When people wrote fagots and dykes should die on our posters they did no futher investigation. If you have any advice or anything that can help me, let me know.
Athena,
As a public high school teacher, I facilitate the Gay/Straight Alliance at our school. We are also participating in this year's Day of Silence and have worked to generate awareness about the day here.
I would strongly encourage you to speak with a teacher, a guidance counselor, or another trusted adult at your school about your feelings and what you are experiencing.
Good luck to you! I hope you'll post a follow-up comment and let us know how things turned out.It's terrific that you were confident and strong enough to initiate organizing the Day of Silence at your school!
terrible tragedy!
Your story is incorrect, this happened in Springfield, MA not Springfield, IL
Ooops, thanks for pointing out the typo. It was Springfield, Massachusetts, not Illinois. We've corrected it.
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