Resistance by the
nation's most vehemently antigay groups could not
keep the National Day of Silence from garnering a record
number of participants this year. More than 8,500
middle schools, high schools, and colleges in the
United States participated in the 12th annual day of
action on April 25, which is coordinated by the Gay,
Lesbian, and Straight Education Network to promote
safe school environments for LGBT and ally students.
"A lot of
students were mobilized by what happened to Lawrence
King," GLSEN spokesman Daryl Presgraves told The
Advocate. "I think a lot of the messages the
students were sharing -- the T-shirts they were wearing, the
posters they made -- mentioned him in some way or
honored him to bring about safer schools."
King, 15, was
shot twice in the head on February 12 by 14-year-old
classmate Brandon McInerney in a classroom at E.O. Greene
Middle School in Oxnard, Calif. McInerney's
supposed motive? Embarrassment over the openly
gay King telling other students he had a crush on
McInerney. This year's DOS was dedicated to
King.
The American
Family Association, an organization that opposes gay
visibility and equality, sent an action alert to its members
in March, urging them to pull their children out of
school on April 25. Despite their efforts, a record
number of schools participated in DOS.
"Many of the kids
pulled out of school probably were the ones who should
have heard the message the most," Presgraves said, adding
that the AFA and like-minded organizations are a prime
illustration of why the day of action must continue
annually.
Carolyn Laub, the
executive director of the San Francisco-based
Gay-Straight Alliance Network, said that involvement this
year probably spiked because of the AFA's
outcry.
"As school
administrators saw the bulletin, they actually went out
and learned more about the Day of Silence, making them even
more supportive," she said. "The right to safe schools
is an important message that educators should be
behind."
In Los Angeles,
more than 900 students, or 60%, at the Miguel Contreras
Learning Complex participated in what may be the largest
single DOS recognition ever.
Jessica Pierce,
organizing director for the U.S. Student Association, a
student advocacy group, said that more than 700 college
campuses worked with them to participate in the Day of
Silence. Students observed the DOS with performance
art; at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside,
participants made a cemetery of those victimized
by hate crimes based on their perceived or actual
identity, she said in an e-mail.
Across the
country, most students went through the day without
incident, but some students were bullied. Presgraves
said that posters were ripped down, and other
participants reported name-calling, but for the most
part, "students remained silent though it, and it was mostly
a positive day."
Laub said that
most of the schools her organization works with -- 660
registered California student groups -- had a good day, but
at least two incidents were reported to the GSA
Network as of Monday. A group of students in Fresno
met with resistance from school administrators, and
participants in a Sacramento-area school were harassed and
called names.
In Lebanon, Mo.,
police officers patrolled the grounds of Lebanon High
School, anticipating violence, according to KSPR-TV, an ABC
affiliate in Springfield, Mo. Leading up to the DOS, a
large number of parents threatened to keep their
children home from school. The controversy caused many
students to ditch school out of protest against the DOS, and
others didn't show up because they feared
for their safety. Lebanon's hallways were
relatively quiet on Friday. As principal Robert Smith
said in the report, the event was "blown out of
proportion."
In Snoqualmie,
Wash., nearly 100 protesters gathered at Mount Si High
School, approximately 30 miles east of Seattle, to rally
against the DOS. The group, led by antigay pastor Ken
Hutcherson, whose daughter attends Mount Si, prayed
and sang loudly outside the school. About 40
counterprotesters beat on drums, chanting "Go home,"
according to the Seattle Times. Almost a third
of Mount Si students did not attend classes on Friday.
But according to
Presgraves, the protesters were unable to derail the
DOS.
"AFA and its
partners basically failed," Presgraves said. "Their
effort was to stop the Day of Silence and continue the
bullying that goes on in schools, but the message was
heard in more schools than ever, in more schools that
had never heard of the Day of Silence before."
(Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)
