On April 10, OH participated in the Day of Silence, a national student-led demonstration where the classes are quieter than usual. Participants take a vow of silence to protest the bullying and harassment of the LGBTQ community in schools.
OH science teacher and True Colors sponsor Maggie Daly said, “The purpose [for Day of Silence] for students to be silent the way that members of the LGBTQ community are sometimes silenced, both in expressing who they are as well as the silencing that has come from the loss of life in the community.”
True Colors, which sponsors this day, is an after-school program at OH for the LGBTQ+ community, led by students with three board members and two sponsors.
“The Day of Silence is a national day run by an organization called Glisten. True Colors is the one that sponsors Day of Silence here,” said Daly. “We are the gender and sexuality alliance club for the school. We meet every week. Our goal is to just build community and awareness within the student body.”
This day is a reminder of the importance of creating a safe space and environment for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
During the club’s meeting after the Day of Silence, the club reflected on how it went, how it made them feel, and reactions from other students. “Afterwards, I got a lot of questions, like asking me about it,” said OH True Colors President junior Kiersa Downs. “I’m really glad I was able to do that.”
TRANSITION PARAGRAPH – ADD Day of Silence also commemorates those who’ve had bad experiences in the community or socially
OH science teacher Laura Passe said, “In my family, we have quite a few members of the Miami family and extended family who are queer. Their experiences in high school were not positive. Trying to find different bathrooms to use. Trying to get teachers to use their preferred pronouns and preferred names was difficult and something that had to be fought for. And so having that shared experience within my own family, I want to make that experience easier for my students.”
Through their silence, students aimed to amplify the voices of those who often go unheard. Daly said, “It’s a way for students to honor those people, to kind of have, like, a remembrance of that, but also to show the greater community, like if you lose these voices, how that feels in class.”
True Colors created a flyer, and posters hung around the school spreading awareness about the day, and making it known any and everyone can participate.
Daly said, “Anyone can participate; it was put in the student announcements. The club made a poster or a flyer for that, which they put up around the school. They also posted on their club Instagram page, people can also show their support by just wearing a sticker, basically saying, I am not committing to, like, taking a vow of silence, but I support what the people are doing.”
Over the years, participation has altered. The more students who participate, the more visible the proposed silence becomes.
Passe said, “This year, there were very few students who signed up to remain silent for the day. In previous years, we’ve had a lot of students. And so it was a lot more visible. I don’t think it was very visible this year.”
Moving forward, there are definitely ways to make this silent day more impactful at OH. But, even with fewer participants, the message is loud.
“I think that there could always be better ways to make sure everyone’s aware of what’s happening, for more people to participate, but also for people to understand what the message of, like, the national day is. There are definitely ways to grow in that way,” said Daly.
Daly continued, “I think that really shows how important all of our voices are. Sometimes it’s hard because we are in such a large school for everyone to even understand what’s happening. So then, if you don’t know why people are doing it and you don’t have people to explain it.”
“It’s always powerful to me, watching students become leaders,” said Daly.
Hi, my name is Peyton. I'm a junior in highschool and it's my first year on staff. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication.
