Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

20th Day of Silence has thousands of students taking action
by Gretchen Rachel Hammond
2016-04-16

This article shared 1943 times since Sat Apr 16, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


On April 15, 1996, Maria Pulzetti organized 150 of her fellow University of Virginia students to take a stand against bullying and harassment in a statement against those who wished to marginalize LGBTQ individuals and so mute their growing chorus of demands to be recognized in a society who wished them to silently disappear.

For Pulzetti and her classmates, the day rendered society's desire powerless through visible solidarity around a brilliantly simple plan that used silence as an emphatic voice.

Twenty years later and according to The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network ( GLSEN )—since 2001, the official organizational sponsor of the Day of Silence—a worldwide alliance of students from middle school to college numbering in the hundreds of thousands take part in a pledge to "be silent to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools."

Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) and Lambda Legal offer their notable support to students who want to take part.

The ACLU sends a letter to the principals and superintendents of schools and school districts across the nation alerting them to one of the "largest annual student-led actions in the country."

It offers advice on how a participating student who hands out "speaking cards" with the reasons for their silence written on them can still "meet their academic responsibilities without speaking."

"As evidenced by recent tragedies, awareness of and attention to this issue is needed now more than ever," the ACLU writes. "Because students who are targeted for anti-gay or anti-transgender bullying often do not identify as LGBT, the Day of Silence represents a peaceful protest of a problem that affects all students no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity."

In case such appeals are met with disdain, the ACLU goes on to note that "student speech that promotes the fair and equal treatment of LGBT people is constitutionally protected political speech."

Meanwhile Lambda Legal is on hand to inform students about their right to participate in the Day of Silence and the remedies available to them if they meet with opposition from teachers or principals.

"If a public school wants to restrict student expression because it fears disruption, school officials have to show facts that reasonably lead them to believe that the speech will cause a substantial disruption to the school," Lambda Legal notes. "A school can't just assume that the Day of Silence, or speech related to it, will disrupt the school."

While Lambda Legal and the ACLU offer both legal rationale and remedies, GLSEN provides the emotional cause.

Its 2016 video Whose Side Are You On opens with a statement from vitriolic anti-LGBT radio talk show host Linda Harvey. Her organization Mission America has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center ( SPLC ) as a hate group.

There is a reason for that.

"The Day of Silence has become a central showpiece in this homosexual agenda in our schools," Harvey states. "It encourages sympathy for homosexuality which is wrong. They claim that homosexuals have been routinely silenced and victimized and don't have a voice."

While Harvey continues to fulminate in uniform compliance of pharisaic interpretations of Biblical precepts, GLSEN silently offers facts interspersed with pictures of students each expressing their unique and wholly individual freedom to defy Harvey's hatred of them.

"Four out of five LGBT students were bullied, harassed or assaulted last year," GLSEN notes. "80 percent of transgender students don't feel safe at school. Many LGBT students say, when they report bullying or assault, nothing is done."

The effects of such bullying are as indelible as they are devastating.

In a Harris Poll released April 14, more than half ( 52 percent ) of all LGBT adults recalled being bullied at school.

"Strikingly, by nearly two to one, 37 percent of LGBT adults say they encountered cyber bullying, when compared with 20 percent of all adults," the poll noted. "LGBT adults who have experienced bullying also report higher than average incidents of physical bullying. Three-quarters ( 75 percent ) say they have experienced physical harm when compared with 68 percent of all respondents.

In Illinois, organizations like the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance have been fighting to make sure something is done even if it is one school district at a time. Alliance staff members spent April 15 fanned out across the city distributing Day of Silence kits put together by the organization's youth committee for school Gay Straight Alliances ( GSA's ).

The youth committee also developed a curriculum designed to spark ongoing discussions "about bullying, harassment and the silencing of our various identities."

In Chicago, the Center on Halsted collaborated with organizations like the Alliance in order to conclude the Day of Silence with a traditional Night of Noise. They opened up third-floor lobby and Hoover-Leppen Theatre for an evening of art, food, selfie opportunities and an open mic. free-for-all of poetry, song and declarations of individual empowerment.

Jezibel is a sophomore—part of a group of students from Lake View High School who were setting their artistic creativity towards a Day of Silence poster.

"I know a lot of people who have been affected negatively by not being able to talk out about their sexuality and how they feel especially to their families," Jezibel told Windy City Times. "So I have a personal connection with the Day of Silence. It's a very important day because were supporting everyone who can't talk out about it."

Princess Tiona was among the adults who had come to express solidarity with the students.

"I care a great deal about children so I think that it's good that we're trying to figure out what we can do to better them," Tiona said. "It seems like they single the LGBT community out for the most violent attacks. It just isn't right."

"This is a celebration of breaking the silence and being proud and here as who you are," Center Youth Program Clinician Kim Vachon stated. "The protest is important but the celebration aspect is as well. It's so poignant at this moment to be visible so the world can feel that statement that we are not hiding, ashamed or silent."


This article shared 1943 times since Sat Apr 16, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Windy City Times seeks nominations for 30 Under 30 Awards 2024-03-18
--From a press release - CHICAGO—After a four-year hiatus, Windy City Times has revived its 30 Under 30 Awards. Windy City Times is seeking to recognize 30 more outstanding LGBTQ+ individuals (and allies). Nominees should be 30 years or younger as ...


Gay News

One Roof Chicago launches youth-focused workforce development program 2024-03-14
- One Roof Chicago (ORC) is set to launch its first training, education and job placement program for LGBTQ+ young adults in late spring. This Community Health Workers and Elder Care program is a part of ORC's ...


Gay News

UPDATE: Nex Benedict's death ruled a suicide; family responds 2024-03-13
- A medical examiner's report concluded that the cause of death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict (he/they) was suicide, media reports confirmed. Benedict—a 16-year-old transgender student—died Feb. 8, a day after ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03
- On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...


Gay News

Federal investigation initiated in Nex Benedict case 2024-03-02
- The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has started an investigation into the Oklahoma school district where Nex Benedict, a transgender 16-year-old sophomore, went to school and was bullied before his death, The Advocate ...


Gay News

Court blocks Texas attorney general's demand for PFLAG data 2024-03-01
- From a press release: AUSTIN, Texas—Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexel on March 1 blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily haltin ...


Gay News

NATIONAL School items, HIV/AIDS activist dies, Nex Benedict, inclusive parade 2024-03-01
- In a new survey, the Pew Research Center asked public K-12 teachers, teens and the U.S. public about the ongoing scrutiny placed on classroom curricula, mainly regarding race and LGBTQ+ identities, ABC News noted. Among other ...


Gay News

Appeals court allows Ind. ban on gender-affirming care for minors 2024-03-01
- On Feb. 27, a federal appeals court in Chicago allowed Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care to go into effect, removing a temporary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued last year, ABC News ...


Gay News

Activists and others urge removal of Oklahoma schools superintendent after Nex Benedict death 2024-02-28
- TULSA, OKLAHOMA—Today more than 350 national, state, and local organizations advocating for equality across the U.S., alongside notable public figures, issued an open letter to Oklahoma legislative leadership urging justice ...


Gay News

911 calls, videos show cascade of failures in Nex Benedict's death, GLAAD responds 2024-02-24
- "It is haunting to hear Nex Benedict, in their own words, describe how school and state leaders failed, at every level of leadership, to keep them safe from bullying and harm. Less than 24 hours later, ...


Gay News

Oklahoma non-binary student dies after being assaulted 2024-02-21
- Officials acknowledged there are unresolved questions about a 16-year-old non-binary Oklahoma student who died one day after a fight in a high school bathroom, NBC News noted. Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, ...


Gay News

Owasso High School student of Bridge v. Oklahoma State Board of Education case dies, groups respond 2024-02-20
--From press releases - Oklahoma City, Okla. — In response to the death of 16-year-old Owasso High School student Nex Benedict following an assault in the school restroom, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Oklahoma ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted to host trans youth & family summit 2024-02-19
- Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., has announced that its Trans Youth & Family Summit 2024 will take place March 16. This year marks the sixth annual event, which partners between Youth Services' Pride Youth ...


Gay News

Human Rights Campaign report releases new data on experiences of Black queer youth 2024-02-14
--From a press release - WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released a report in ...


Gay News

HRC State Equality Index: Anti-LGBTQ+ 2023 state legislative season "most destructive" 2024-01-30
--From a press release - WASHINGTON—Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the education arm of the nation's largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, in partnership with the Equality Federatio ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.