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Comment on this blog post with your stories!

We congratulate all of you for participating in the 13th Annual National Day of Silence! Your silence spoke volumes by calling attention to anti-LGBT bullying and harassment. Awareness activities like the DOS can help make schools safer. Now it's time to learn from your event and the experiences of other organizers. Please let us know how it went for you by commenting on this blog post.

Here is a sample of a story from last year’s DOS, and questions to help guide your feedback:

A student from Florida reports: I go to a very small school where there are only about 30 kids in the whole high school so it made it a bit more difficult. I got one of my classmates to be a part of it with me. We accomplished a lot on that day because at least we let people know that it’s ok to speak out no matter what sexual orientation you are. My teacher congratulated me on being involving in the Day of Silence.

Guiding questions for submitting a story:

1. Have you participated in the Day of Silence before?

2. What type of school do you go to, small or large, public or private, rural, urban, or suburban?

3. How many people participated or supported your Day of Silence event?

4. Did anything extraordinary happen?

5. Were there supportive teachers?

6. Did you have a Breaking the Silence event?

Now That's Moxie!

How's this for breaking stereotypes?

...a four-year member of the football and baseball teams, and a band member, Kiran is a well-liked out gay student.

Kiran Raghubir was recently given a Moxie Award and a $2000 scholarship from an organization called PFund.

He always put his academics first—as a result, he has been recognized two years running for having the highest GPA of any player on the football team. According to his Admission Possible senior coach, Kiran has a deep knowledge of himself and his identity, and he is masterful when interacting with his peers. Kiran plans to integrate his love of the clarinet and piano with his college career.

• 2009 PFund Scholarship Recipients (PFund Online)
  

Demi Lovato Tweets Against Bullying

Disney Channel star Demi Lovato read about Jaheem Herrera's suicide and was personally moved to speak out. Herrera was the second 11-year-old to take his own life this month due to bullying and harassment using anti-gay taunts. Both boys were very young and neither was known to be gay.

Lovato started tweeting about her own experience with being bullied:

"I can't explain what I went through when I left public school to start homeschooling.. One day I will. But right now..." about 7 hours ago from web

"It honestly amazes me how schools refuse to take action in verbal abuse.. they SAY they do, but this what ends up happening. So, so sad.." about 8 hours ago from web

You can check out the CNN article here, and Lovato's Twitter page is here.

Latest Media Coverage About DoS and Carl Walker-Hoover

Here's an ABC World News Tonight piece. Don't forget the Kleenex.

• Extreme Bullying

Print article from ABC News.

• When Words Can Kill: 'That's so gay'

Philadelphia Daily News ran a similar piece about Carl and the Day of Silence

• Day of Silence today in support of students bullied for sexual orientation

Here's an article from the Huffington Post about bullying. And the author asks, "maybe its time for the adults to start making some noise."

• 'Getting Real' About Bullying-Related Suicides

Evaluate your Day of Silence!

Once your Day of Silence event is over make sure that you assess how it went. There are a variety of ways to ask people who participated how it went for them, from having a survey, to having a conversation. You can even do both.

Having a conversation allows people to tell their story in detail. Administering a survey allows you to collect quantitative data. The latter can be good for your school administrators. Both options can help you build upon your DOS activities for next year.

Here is a sample Day of Silence evaluation - download PDF here (1 page).

Video from DiversityInc.

In honor of the 13th Annual Day of Silence

GLSEN'S Day of Silence Tweet Team

Just a few of us Twitterers! In no particular order....

GLSEN Martha

GLSEN Matthew

GLSEN Leigh

GLSEN Kevin

GLSEN Justin

GLSEN Megan


GLSEN Holiday



...and GLSEN Barbara ;-)

Twitter #FollowFriday - We're No. 3 !

Oprah is No. 1, Ashton Kutcher is No. 2 and Day of Silence is No. 3!! And it's only midday.


If you Tweet, please endorse the Day of Silence. Let's get those trending numbers up.

SOURCE: http://topfollowfriday.com/

I have been sucked into the DOS Twitterverse.

Really, I love Twitter. It's fast and informative and fun and I can follow all the issues important to me. These issues, of course, include bullying and harassment in schools, particularly that of LGBT students and allies. But today it's been hard to follow everything!

Today, as you know, is the National Day of Silence, and Twitter has exploded with DOS-related posts. (Click here to follow.) People all across the country and the world are tweeting about anti-LGBT bullying and harassment and are taking a stand by supporting the Day of Silence. Today is also Follow Friday, and Twitterers, Tweeters and Twits alike are endorsing DayofSilence in their posts! Right now DOS is the #3 most endorsed in all of the Twittervese, according to TopFollowFriday.com. Won't you help us climb to to the top? Go to your Twitter account and post #followfriday @dayofsilence and help get us to #1.

And make sure to join our TweetChat today at 3:30 PM Eastern.

It's already an amazing Day of Silence! Keep us in the loop and tell us what you're doing to end LGBT bullying in your school, and keep Tweeting the Silence!

Interview with Carl Walker-Hoover's mom at ESSENCE.com

More details about what led an 11-year-old boy to take his own life in this ESSENCE.com article. Carl Walker-Hoover would have turned 12 tomorrow on the Day of Silence. He didn't identify as gay, and yet he was constantly harassed with anti-LGBT language. It's a tragic reminder of why ALL bullying must stop and why we have to train educators to identify and address anti-LGBT bullying.

How to observe the Day of Silence?

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.

Make sure you prepare all of your materials for the Day of Silence tomorrow!

Updated: Find materials for download here.

Juggling between homework assignments, extracurricular activities, and organizing a Day of Silence can be a lot! There are so many students who tell me how they spent weeks preparing for the Day of Silence only to be unprepared the morning of their event. From Day of Silence t-shirts being dirty or wrinkled, to speaking cards getting lost, there are a number of ways that your last minute prepping can go awry.

So, double check your to-do list tonight and make sure you'll be set to run a smooth event tomorrow. Here are a few tips to help you in your last minute preparations:

1. Make a to-do list of last minute tasks
2. The night before your event call all of the people helping you organize to make sure everyone is on the same page
3. Find, wash, iron and otherwise make pretty all of your DOS paraphernalia
4. Print out all of the materials you will need
5. Make sure your camera battery is charged
6. Double check your to-do list

Ready, set, go!

Updated: Find materials for download here.

Register and pledge - let us know you're out there!

Every year after the Day of Silence we tally up the numbers of participants and supporters to share with our donors and to highlight the importance of the work that GLSEN does. Don't you want to be counted?

Students (middle, high school and college) register here.

Adults - Support our students by signing the pledge.

Help us prove that people care about ending anti-LGBT bullying.

Responding to critics of the DOS

This is a guest post from GLSEN Holiday:

In some communities there are people who oppose the Day of Silence (DOS) for various reasons. If you're looking for ways to address critics here is a bit of information.

What do you have to say about potential opponents to the Day of Silence?
The issue at hand is the bullying, harassment, name-calling and violence that students see and face in our schools. The Day of Silence is an activity created and led by students to educate their peers and bring an end to this harassment.

More info can be found on the Day of Silence FAQ page.

Those who do not support the Day of Silence often protest, but rarely contribute positively to finding ways to end anti-LGBT harassment. Some individuals and groups organize events in response to the Day of Silence. These folks sometimes misunderstand and frequently mischaracterize the basic purpose of the Day of Silence. Bringing attention to opponents only adds false credibility to their misinformation about the Day of Silence, GLSEN and the thousands of American students taking action on April 17th.

If you face hostile students or organizations in your school on the Day of Silence remember to remain calm. GLSEN encourages you to not get into a debate, make gestures and certainly not to get into a physical altercation. If you continue to be harassed, we advise you to contact your GSA advisor or other ally school staff person.

GLSEN looks forward to engaging all organizations and individuals who share the Day of Silence vision of schools free from anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment.

What does Silence mean to you?

As the Day of Silence approaches we’ve been getting lots of questions and comments along two similar but distinct threads on our various websites and in our email.

1) Do I need to be silent all day? Can I communicate at all? Can I blog/tweet/facebook?

2) Being silent doesn’t help and only perpetuates the problem. We should be speaking out.

The answer to both of these is similar: being silent has been and continues to be a very powerful way to create positive dialogue around the problem of anti-LGBT bullying for many students across the country. However, each person who participates in the Day of Silence has a different way of participating.

For some, the best way to participate is by being completely silent, including not participating in online communication. For others, the best way to participate is by spending the day speaking out about the issues of LGBT bullying. Some who participate get limited approval from their schools for their participation and so can only be silent during breaks between classes. There are many ways of participation ranging from complete silence to no silence.

The point is that the DOS is a day to bring attention to the problem of anti-LGBT bullying and each person who participates must determine how they can best use, or not use, their voice to do that. If you feel you will have the deepest positive impact by remaining completely silent and have the appropriate approvals to do so then go for it. If you feel that in your situation, you can have a deeper positive impact by speaking out then that should be your way of observing. No one can make that determination but you.

Your voice, whether silent or loud, WILL make a difference this Friday and the Day of Silence will speak volumes.

A great idea for Breaking the Silence

I wanted to share an activity to do for your Breaking the Silence (BTS) event. Last year I went to GLSEN Kansas City's BTS event.

There were a number of activities involved, but one of the most exciting and fascinating of them was the "rush hour rally". I'm not sure if this is what they officially call it, but that is in effect what it was.

A group of about 50 students, chapter leaders, parents, and GSA advisers gathered at a public fountain near a busy intersection. They were decked out in Day of Silence t-shirts and rainbow paraphernalia. They had noisemakers and posters that said "Honk if you support safe schools!", "Support the Day of Silence!", "Equality is a right!" and other catchy slogans. They lined the sidewalk and encouraged rush hour motorists to honk in support of the Day of Silence.

The air was filled with excitement and camaraderie and every time someone unbeknown to the Day of Silence would honk there would be an overwhelming uproar. They did an amazing job of raising awareness about the DOS to the Kansas city community. It was phenomenal.

Here are a few ideas to incorporate for your Breaking the Silence event:

1. Have a silent countdown
2. Have all event attendees write their comments on a huge banner
3. Have some of the DOS participants speak out about their experiences of being silent all day, and about their experiences of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment
4. Invite local performers, singers, musicians, poets, theater troupes, etc.
5. Have food! Have music! Have fun!

Looking Back, Looking Forward

This is a guest posting from Chris Clevenger,
GLSEN Jump-Start National Student Leadership Team,
GLSEN Greater Cincinnati

Looking back on my first Day of Silence, I realize that it was rough. I can remember the negativity that originated from the student body at my high school. I remember the name calling, the threats, and the hate. I remember it being called a "Gay Day", and a lot of the community getting outraged that the school would allow such a thing.

Most of all though, I remember the support that came from those who cared. The students and teachers who stood by me throughout the day knew that we were standing up for rights that EVERYONE deserved.

Now, a year later, it's amazing to see how far we've come. It leaves me in awe to think about how much our support base has grown. Now I have a established Gay Straight Alliance with a student base of about thirty members... not bad for a school with less than one thousand in total. It gives me great pride to see how far my community has come, all because of a group of people who stood up for what they believed in.

So, while you are silent throughout the day on Friday, remember that what YOU are doing is making a difference. You are paving the way for the change that we've all are waiting for.

DAY of Silence? How About a WEEK of Tolerance?

Here's a school that has not only organized a Day of Silence, but has created an entire week of tolerance education!

Geneva IL The Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Geneva High School will host several optional activities this week to promote a Week of Tolerance...

Friday - Day of Silence, where Gay/Straight Alliance students will remain silent and not send text messages during the school day. Students will have permission not to speak from their teachers. All students will be encouraged to wear their Gay/Straight Alliance at Geneva High School T-shirts.

• Geneva students host Tolerance Week (The Chronicle)
  

Spring Break hasn't stopped their Day of Silence

Although the national Day of Silence will take place this Friday on April 17, due to different school break schedules some students have already had their activities. Here are two stories students posted on MySpace:

"We sold stickers and cards as a fundraiser, and I handed out duct tape to those who wanted to tape their mouths shut and we did get a lot of negative comments. But during the last two periods the club met and there were about 30 people, which was amazing considering our last meeting was only about 15. The day was amazing, and I loved how this day just brought us all together."
Adrianne D. / Connecticut

"My club did DOS Friday April 3rd since we had spring break this week. We didn’t really get a chance to plan much but we made signs and t-shirts. Even though the posters were torn down 10 minutes after being put up almost every time, we kept putting them up and wore SHHH on our shirts.

"I just wanted to say THANK YOU for this event. It has changed the judgment from some of my friends and teachers and it was a total blast. It showed me how to handle my temper with people who don't understand the LGBT community; it showed me how to not respond to their negative responses and actions. THANK YOU!"
Emma I. / Tennessee.

Tweet the Silence on April 17!

Get Tweet the Silence buttons, click here.

[updated: 4-14-09 14:21pm]
Let’s get a Twitter movement going for this year’s Day of Silence. It’s a way everyone can get involved even if your school isn’t participating in the day of action. Let’s generate some Twitter buzz to support everyone taking a vow of silence.

Here’s how:
From now until Friday the 17th tweet at least once a day about the Day of Silence. And invite your friends to tweet about it too. And tweet them to become a Day of Silence follower.

On Friday the 17th
On the Day of Silence tweet about it as much as possible.

Important: If you are a student in middle or high school, make sure you only tweet during times that your school permits. Tweet in the morning before school starts, at lunch (if allowed), and especially after school.

If you can’t tweet any other time, plan to tweet within one hour after classes end. We hope that will create a rolling, growing Twitter movement from the East to the West coast as schools close for the day. Students in Alaska and Hawaii, join in when you can. And if you live outside the U.S. you can be a part too.

Tweet topics
Tweet what you’re doing for DOS. Tweet how many students are participating at your school. Tweet the different ways you’re getting support. Tweet if you’re holding a Breaking the Silence event. Tweet about how many buttons you’re wearing. Tweet about the reactions of your classmates.
Basically, if it has to do with DOS, tweet it in the days leading up to Friday.

Tagging your tweets
Don’t forget to mention DOS (@dayofsilence) by using the “@” or “#” tags. For general Twitter info, click here. (Now you can use the “@dayofsilence” anywhere in your tweet, not just at the beginning.) More about this tag, click here.

Follow Friday
April 17th is a Friday, so you can also tag your tweets: #followfriday. That’s a great way to recommend to other Twitter users who to follow. Find out about Follow Friday here and here.

Buttons
We have Tweet the Silence! buttons for your web site. To get one, click here.

The Day of Silence is almost here, so get tweeting.

It's as important as ever...

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?

Still more stories being shared over at facebook - and I become more and more inspired by all those who are participating and supporting:

I actually did this last year before and it brought back some bad memories. For the simple fact that I wasn't speaking, people judged me, pushed me around. I didn't have a single defense for myself. My actions could not help when nobody was looking at me. To quote a book title, "I have no mouth and I must scream." It was how I felt that day. Now, I must put myself through it again to feel the pain that people go through every single day. I may be straight, but I love all people, no matter their race, gender, or sexuality. It's so sad that people treat others as if they are nothing. I hope we all can stand up with our arms braced and get through this.

Aaron F.

Message from GLSEN's ED Eliza Byard regarding her conversation with the Walker family

GLSEN's Executive Director Eliza Byard has spoken with the family of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, the 11-year-old boy who took his own life Monday after enduring constant bullying, including daily anti-gay language, at school. Carl did not identify as gay.

Read GLSEN's initial press release about the bullying and suicide here.

Eliza's message to Day of Silence supporters:

I want you to know that I have been in contact with the Walker family regarding the suicide of 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover this past Monday. I have extended sincere condolences to the family on behalf of the entire GLSEN network, explained our mission to end bullying and harassment of all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender expression, and asked for – and received – Carl’s mother’s permission to talk about Carl’s story in the context of the Day of Silence next week. The Day of Silence will fall on what would have been Carl’s 12th birthday. On the most recent call, a family member said, “Even though this event is on Carl’s birthday, we believe it is important that his story be told. Whether or not a student is gay this language should not be used to insult others.” I have expressed to the family GLSEN’s collective resolve to do all in our power to heed his mother’s call to action and ensure that in the future no more students suffer as Carl did.


Eliza

Keep on Pushing

A guest post by Amena J. one of our fabulous GLSEN staff members:

This post was supposed to be a report back on GLSEN Southern Maine’s GSA Night. Wednesday the Chapter hosted an interfaith forum featuring Bishop Gene Robinson. As you can imagine the Chapter was thrilled to host an event with such an esteemed guest. I decided to fly to Portland from DC for this event. I too was excited to meet someone who has made an impact on the LGBT and faith communities.

Due to numerous travel debacles involving two planes, a bus and three states I made it to the interfaith forum 20 minutes before it was over. Frustrated and disappointed I sat and listened to the end of talks by other clergy at the forum.

Afterwards a flock of students went to Bishop Robinson for photo ops and more discussion about the speech that I never heard. I did get to meet the Bishop he shook my hand and was genuinely sympathetic to my dilemma. Bishop Robinson ended the evening with a moment of silence and closing remarks.



So what to write? As I drove to my hotel I labored over how to sum up an evening that wasn’t. After a day composed of almost 12 hours of travel and aggravation I was weary. Then it hit me. Maybe this trip was one big metaphor. It may seem cliché but sometimes we need to be reminded of a basic lesson, never give up.

On Wednesday I encountered obstacle after obstacle. It seemed the harder I tried to get to Portland the worse things got. At one point I considered heading back to DC. I’m glad I didn’t do that. Although, I did not get to hear his speech I did reach my goal of meeting Bishop Robinson. What little of the event I participated in was wonderful.

Several of you reading this blog are going to participate in the Day of Silence. Many of you have encountered some mighty struggles along the way. If you are an activist or organizer you know how hard it can be to keep going day after day. The world throws many obstacles in you path and yet you press on. Although your journey may be long and you may get weary, know that you will reach your goal.

Wishing you a wonderful Day of Silence,

Amena

Wear Red to Support the Day of Silence

Lots of great ideas and stories being shared over on the Day of Silence facebook page (link to the right). My recent favorites are the strategies that some students have come up with to have a visual show of support for the Day of Silence, to include those who, for whatever reasons, who will be silent during breaks between classes but need to talk to fulfill class requirements or have other reasons that they cannot remain silent all day or who aren't in school. My favorite so far is the simplest one: wear red to support the DOS.

As a GLSEN staffer, I am not able to pledge complete silence but I will pledge to wear red on the 17th in support of the Day of Silence.

What other suggestions do you have for supporting the silence?

Issues with Administrator's approval?

Having issues with your school administrators granting you permission to hold a Day of Silence? Then read this letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about school administrators' legal obligations to protect students' safety and freedom of speech. Click HERE

GLSEN Pittsburgh Announces Breaking the Silence Party

If you're in town check out:

GLSEN Pittsburgh's Break the Silence Party

• Meet new people,
• enjoy free food, and
• bring your iPod and we’ll play your favorite tunes!

April 17th from 3:00 to 6:30
Planned Parenthood Center
933 Liberty Ave Suite 200
Right in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh.
Two blocks up from the Wood St. station.

• GLSEN's Break the Silence Party (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Teen)
  

Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

Facebook Fans Nearly Double in a Week!

Exciting news around the Day of Silence Facebook Fan Page. Just last Sunday there were over 5,000 fans. Yesterday that number nearly doubled to 11,000 fans! How long will it take to double that number?

If you haven't become our fan yet on Facebook do it now!

Are you observing the DOS?

Have you and all your friends registered? Whether you're going to be silent all day or just at lunch hour register your DOS observance at our sister site: StudentOrganizing.org.

Why register? Every person who registers with GLSEN's Student Organizing site shows that they are committed to safe schools. That number is an important way to demonstrate the great impact that the Day of Silence has in schools and communities across the country. It only takes a few moments to sign up and be counted and your registration can make a big difference.

As of today the Day of Silence will be observed in nearly 4000 schools April 17th. But we're still two weeks away. Let's get that number a whole lot higher.

Remember: Don’t just participate, REGISTER!

And don't forget to follow us on:
Facebook
Myspace
Twitter

"Pedro" Tonight (4/1/09) on MTV and LOGO

Check out the movie "Pedro" tonight at 8 p.m. on MTV and LOGO. "Pedro" tells the story of Pedro Zamora, a gay activist who was a member of "The Real World: San Francisco." He died of AIDS-related causes the day after the last episode aired in 1994.

World Net Daily Columnist Compares GLSEN, Day of Silence to 'Hitler Youth'

Sadly, this is not an April Fool's joke, but it is one of those things you have to see to believe.

A columnist for World Net Daily compared GLSEN, the Day of Silence and GSAs to Hitler Youth. All because we believe that every student has a right to be safe in school and get an education free of bullying and harassment.

Original article.

GLSEN's response