Thousands of students to participate in GLSEN’s Day of Silence

Students across the country, with the support of educators, Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) and GLSEN chapters, will participate in GLSEN’s Day of Silence, an annual international event that brings attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by LGBT youth in schools.

Students typically take a vow of silence as a symbol of the silencing effect of anti-LGBT language and bullying. This year, through the theme “Silence is Ours,” the focus will be on reclaiming this silence, shifting it from something forced upon LGBT students to a strategic tool they use to advocate for safe and affirming schools.

GLSEN’s Day of Silence is one of the largest student-led actions in the country, with students from more than 8,000 middle and high schools, colleges and universities in every state and 70 countries around the world having participated in the past.

According to GLSEN’s most recent National School Climate Survey, the only survey on the school experiences of LGBT middle and high school students in the country, 85 percent of LGBT students were verbally harassed at school in the past year and nearly two-thirds heard homophobic remarks frequently or often.

To find a Breaking the Silence or Night of Noise event nearby, click here.