The Lumberjack

Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Roger Tuan Day of Silence participants Rachel Fix (left), Kaia Renouf and Sarah Jones stand with their mouths taped to protest the silencing of the LGBTQ community.

The air is quiet on the steps of Founders Hall as students wait for the clock tower to ring out seven times. They wait to break the silence that they have been harboring all day. At the last chime, participants in the Day of Silence shout out loudly and start clapping.

April 25 is the National Day of Silence, which is an awareness protest for the discrimination directed toward people of various sexual orientations and gender identities. Targeted groups include gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and allies.

The Day of Silence began in 1996 at the University of Virginia as a campus effort to stop harassment. Since then, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) estimates that about 450,000 students at 4,000 schools across the nation participate in the protest.

Participants remain voluntarily silent throughout the day. They may carry cards on them specifying the nature of their protest. Some choose to cover their mouths with tape for emphasis.

At Humboldt State University, the Queer Student Union was tabling in the Quad. Members passed out envelopes containing a letter of thanks to the protesters, a black armband, and the silence cards.

The Day of Silence included a silent rally in the Quad at noon, during which a Christian protester spoke against the vigil on a microphone.

Chris Renzullo, environmental resource engineering major, said, "Groups who seek to speak out their religious beliefs have every right to do so. However, I disagree with extremists who say things like 'sodomites will burn in hell.' I have found the best way to deal with those kinds of people is with silence or a hug."

"Silence speaks volumes," Renzullo said regarding criticisms that silence is not the best form of protest.

At 7 p.m., after breaking the silence, there was an event in the Green and Gold Room of Founders Hall. The Multi-generational Queer Women's Art and Music Night featured arts including paintings, drawings, and photography of mainly female subjects.

Jojo Bradfield, a cell molecular biology major said, "This is important to me because last year here, one of my teachers said it was a 'load of crap.' Then, he actually saw the protest and apologized in front of the whole class the next day."

Sarah Stribling, religious studies major, compared the events at Humboldt State University to her experiences in high school. "In high school, I had a small group of about 10 friends who participated in the Day of Silence, so it's good to see more people involved here. My high school's queer student union was called 'Unity Club' because the word 'queer' couldn't be mentioned at all."

This years' Day of Silence was in memory of California eighth grader Lawrence King. A classmate in his Oxnard school shot and killed him. He was murdered because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Each year the Day of Silence focuses on a different victim of harassment and assault.

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