Transcript Cranford High School

Silent Halls at
Cranford High School
...On the National Day of Silence
hundreds of thousands of students
nationwide take a vow of silence to
bring attention to anti-LGBT namecalling, bullying and harassment in
their schools…
 LGBT (or GLBT) is an initialism referring
collectively to:
lesbian
 gay
bisexual
transgender people
ABOUT THE DAY OF SILENCE
 Sponsored by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network, the National Day of Silence is a
day of action in which students across the country
take some form of a vow of silence to call attention
to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and
harassment in schools
 Through their activities students can speak out
against harassment and organize for change for
their schools and communities
 Organizing a Day of Silence (DOS) activity or event
can be a positive tool for change-both personally
and community-wide
 By taking a vow of silence, you're making a
powerful statement about the important issue of
anti-LGBT bullying
 When you organize others to join you that message
becomes louder and louder
Your Rights during the Day of Silence
 While you DO have a right to participate in the Day
of Silence between classes and before and after
school, you may NOT have the right to stay silent
during instructional time if a teacher requests for
you to speak
 According to Lambda Legal, “Under the
Constitution, public schools must respect students'
right to free speech. The right to speak includes the
right not to speak, as well as the right to wear
buttons or T-shirts expressing support for a cause."
Your Rights during the Day of Silence
 However, this right to free speech doesn't extend to
classroom time
 "If a teacher tells a student to answer a question
during class, the student generally doesn't have a
constitutional right to refuse to answer."
 We remind participants that students who talk
with their teachers ahead of time are more likely
to be able to remain silent during class
 As the day’s popularity and exposure have
increased, many misperceptions have spread about
what the Day of Silence is, why the day exists and
what participating in it means
 Following, are 4 truths that address common
misinformation about the Day of Silence
 The Day of Silence’s purpose is to bring attention
to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and
harassment and effective responses
 The goal of the Day of Silence is to make schools
safer for all students, regardless of sexual
orientation and gender identity/expression
 Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experience
harassment at school
 Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs,
backgrounds and sexual orientations participate
in the Day of Silence
 Slurs such as "faggot" and "dyke" are commonplace
in school
 The Day of Silence is an example of students, from
middle school to college, including all races,
working together proactively to bring attention to
the anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and
harassment
 Day of Silence participants encourage schools to
implement proven solutions to address anti-LGBT
name-calling, bullying and harassment
 Adopt an anti-bullying policy that outlines categories
such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual
orientation and gender expression/identity
 Provide staff trainings to enable school staff to identify
and address anti-LGBT harassment effectively and in a
timely manner
 In our school, we practice the Olweus Bullying Program
 The day is a positive educational experience
 The Day of Silence is an opportunity for students to
work toward improving school climate for all students
 The day is most successful when schools and students
work together to show their commitment to ensuring
safe schools for all students
 There is no single way to participate, and students are
encouraged to take part in the way that is the most
positive and uplifting for their school
 GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education
Network, is the leading national education
organization focused on ensuring safe schools for
all students
 Established nationally in 1995, GLSEN envisions a
world in which every child learns to respect and
accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation
or gender identity/expression
 In 1996, students at the University of Virginia organized
the first Day of Silence in response to a class assignment
on non-violent protests
 Over 150 students participated
 In 1997, organizers took their effort nationally and
nearly 100 colleges and universities participated
 In 2001, GLSEN became the official organizational
sponsor for the event
 In 2008, students from more than 8,000 K-12
schools, colleges and universities organized Day of
Silence events
These numbers
make the Day of
Silence one of the
largest studentled actions in the
United States
I'm in middle school.
Can I organize a Day of Silence at my school?
 The Day of Silence can logistically be organized in
any school, public or private, middle school, high
school or college
 However, in middle and high schools, getting
support from the school administration is critical
 Students should not assume that administrators
would not support their efforts - even if they have
not supported LGBT issues in the past
 Many people will be affected by this event, and will
want to know more about the silence LGBT people
and their allies face
 Good follow-up events include: workshops,
speakers, entertainment, or any other venue for
evaluation, education, and discussion
 GLSEN advises all students to secure school
permission for the event
 We encourage students in those schools where
support is unlikely to build campaigns to try and
secure that support or work with their
administration on compromises of activities the
school will allow
What do you have to say about
potential opponents to the
Day of Silence?
 Some individuals and groups organize events in
opposition to the Day of Silence
 These events grossly mischaracterize or simply
misunderstand the basic purpose of the Day of Silence
 If you face hostile students or organizations in your
school on the Day of Silence remember to remain calm
 We encourage you to not get into a debate, make
gestures, and certainly not to get into a physical
altercation.
 In our school, Student Council organizes the Day of
Silence
 We prepare for the DOS by making students aware
with flyers, posters, t-shirts and announcements
 Students that participate receive stickers
 To further their support, students often buy pins
and ribbons sold during lunch periods
Day of Silence
April 20th, 2012
What are you going to do
to end the silence?