Student members and supporters of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) participated in the national Day of Silence on April 17 to bring attention to the harassment that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students experience at school.
Forty-one students carried “Speaking Cards” with them to explain their refusal to speak a single word the entire day. This day, which has been a tradition of the GSA for the past five years, is still an event that members of the GSA participate in, despite the lack of a large participation by other WJ students.
“It would be even better if we had more participants in Day of Silence,” said junior GSA member Jesse Wolff. “I also feel that it would be helpful if teachers took time in their classes to discuss the meaning of Day of Silence with their students.”
According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s website, 61 percent of LGBT students who experience harassment never reported the incident to their school.
“Right now, it’s just bullying and harassment but in the future, as adults, these kids are going to have to fight for their basic rights,” said GSA co-sponsor Isabel Hernandez-Cata.
