Eleanor Marshall
Opinion Columnist
Halls of schools across the country will be hushed on April 21. Members of the LGBTQ+ community and supporters will stand together and not talk for an entire day to make students aware of the bullying that goes on in schools as part of the nation-wide Day of Silence.
This powerful movement was started to make students aware of bullying, especially against LGBTQ+ students. The not talking stands for victims of bullying that feel like they silenced by bullies.
A Gay Straight Alliance member who preferred to stay anonymous said, “Kids in our school are very hetero normative (the belief or assumption that boys like girls and girls like boys in a romantic way), and they don’t realize their privilege. (The Day of Silence) makes (students) notice the bullying of the LGBTQ+ community in our school.”
This doesn’t mean that straight students aren’t bullied; it just means that straight students will probably never get bullied for their sexuality, and they don’t realize their privilege. LGBTQ+ students are not only bullied for things like wearing uncool clothes or having an unpopular haircut like straight students, they are also harassed about something they can’t change about themselves: their sexuality.
They also mentioned how important it is to stay quiet all day. All of the GSA members agreed that if you decide to participate, to take it seriously and not to talk when you get home. It is the day of silence, not the seven-hours-you’re-at-school of silence.
Students who want to participate in the Day of Silence should be proactive. They should talk to their teachers in advance to inform them that they will not be speaking and why.
This is a very important day for students to take part in, even if they have never been bullied themselves. Standing silently with victims shows that they are against bullying and will no longer be bystanders.
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