12th Annual National Day of Silence

12th Annual National Day of Silence Honors the Memory of Slain Lawrence King

Hundreds of Thousands of Students to participate in Day of Silence for Safer Schools

NEW YORK: This year's National Day of Silence on April 25 will be held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old California student who was shot and killed at school in February by a 14-year-old classmate because of King's sexual orientation and gender expression.

The Day of Silence is held by students every year to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment. The senseless tragedy at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, Calif., brings even more meaning to a day that has brought hope to millions of students.

Hundreds of thousands of students are expected to participate by taking some form of a vow of silence for the entire day or part of it. Their efforts will be supported by hundreds of community-based "Breaking the Silence" events at the end of the day. Together, concerned students will create a powerful call to action in order to prevent future tragedies.

Students hand out speaking cards during the Day of Silence that read:


"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?"


There are simple steps that all schools can take to make schools safer for all students and to end the endemic name-calling and harassment that LGBT students and their allies face every day. We need to act now so that Lawrence King and the countless others who endure anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment will not be forgotten, and so that we can create an enduring legacy of safer schools for all in their names.

GLSEN's 2005 National School Climate Survey found that four out of five LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and 29% report missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety. The Day of Silence is one way students and their allies are making anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling unacceptable in America's schools.

About the Day of Silence
The Day of Silence, a project of GLSEN, is a nationwide, student-led event during which thousands of high schools and colleges bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. For more information and a complete collection of organizing materials, visit www.dayofsilence.org.
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Category:

Education

Tags:

• national
• day
• silence
• honors
• lawrence
• students
• gender
• homophobia
• gays
• lesbians
• bisexuals
• transexuals

[ChineseChick361]

i am bi and i support and agree with you all the way

[erasehate08]

thank u chinese

[JoelLara]

My friends did this. I still have the paper she gave me just so I can remember how ignorant people react to Bisexuals, Gays, and Lesbians. I'm straight, but I hate how people flip out seeing two guys or girls holding hands or making out. I may feel uncomfortable seeing two guys engaging in such action, but they shouldn't be judged because they're gay.

[Bwina08]

this is my third year doing this and i am glad to hear that more and more people are participating

[FaithBlack2001]

Day of Silence this year is April 16th, 2010

If we don't take a stand against intolerance, no one will.

[pigbutt12345]

whats this song called????????

[OutcastAngelV]

Yay ^.^ Thankies atleast some people care? Thanks again

[tuberngubern]

so what are these 'string genetics factors. I noticed the use of the phrase 'there is evidence' which is different than 'there is proof'

[philipem01]

I did!

[ingodwetrust99]

philipem01 ,

ALL studies, which pursued evidence that a homosexual gene exists, have been debunked. ALL of them, including the ram study.

There is no "proof", whatsoever, that homosexual behavior is genetic/innate. Even the homosexual-friendly APA admits that fact.

Google: APA's New Pamphlet on Homosexuality De-emphasizes the Biological Argument, Supports a Client's Right to Self-Determination

Google: Dr NE Whitehead Is ram behaviour evidence of "natural" homosexuality?

[philipem01]

but brain anatomy and hormone production may determine whether adult rams prefer other rams over ewes.

"This particular study, along with others, strongly suggests that sexual preference is biologically determined in animals, and possibly in humans," said the study's lead author, Charles E. Roselli, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, OHSU School of Medicine.

[philipem01]

More of that "nonexistent evidence"

ScienceDaily (Mar. 9, 2004) Researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine have confirmed that a male sheep's preference for same-sex partners has biological underpinnings.

A study published in the journal Endocrinology demonstrates that not only are certain groups of cells different between genders in a part of the sheep brain controlling sexual behavior, ...

[philipem01]

"No proof"? Read my posts above where I picked up at least five or six research studies showing generic linked character of homosexuality from reputable researchers and even an acknowledgment from NARTH that believes it can change sexual orientation that genetic factors are involved in homosexulaity,"

Your ignorance is appalling because you want to be ignorant and don't care what the evidence is...Galileo found that science could be buried by ignorance too but in the end science won out.

[philipem01]

"Gay brothers may hold genetic clues

Study seeks scientific explanation for roots of homosexuality" AP Mon., Oct . 15, 2007

Dr. Alan Sanders of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute, the lead researcher of the new study, said he suspects there isnt one so-called gay gene.

It is more likely there are several genes that interact with nongenetic factors, including psychological and social influences, to determine sexual orientation, said Sanders, a psychiatrist.