Day of Silence This Friday
Many Hornets will be participating in the National Day of Silence this Friday, April 12th. The National Day of Silence marks the annual remembrance of LGBTQIA+ members who have died by suicide. Members and allies all over the country participate to honor those who have fallen.
This day of silence is organized by a national organization, GLSEN, to spread awareness of the harassment LGBTQIA+ students deal/dealt with on a daily basis.This designated day has been a regular occurrence each year since 1996 on the third Friday in April. In the last several years, there have been over 10,000 participants in middle and high schools, colleges, and universities.
Hillside High School GSA will be participating.
Ms Jordan, an English teacher at Hillside, says, “In a perfect world, I would find a way to teach without talking...I will most likely have a sign around my neck while wearing my GSA shirt. We’ll have a table set up Friday morning with tape, signs, and markers.”
Many hornets might be unfamiliar with terms relating to the LGBTQIA+ community.
“It’s a learning experience. Now, you can’t refer to everybody as “him” or “her” because you don’t want to offend anybody,” said Junior Morgan Harris.
For those of you who didn’t know, LGBTQIA+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning. There are more sexualities/genders, such as demisexual, asexual, genderfluid, and nonbinary. It may be difficult to understand why people participate on this day of silence If you’re not familiar with the meaning behind LGBTQIA+.
Lesbians are females who love/like other females. Gays are males who love/like other males. Bisexuals are females/males who love/like both genders. Pansexuals are people who love/like any gender. Transgender is when the brain and body don’t match up, resulting in the person changing their body to fix the problem. Queer/Questioning is when someone is unsure of what gender/sexuality they are. Demisexuals are people who don’t feel attraction unless they have a strong emotional bond with someone. Asexuals are people who have no attraction to any gender whatsoever. Genderfluid is when there is no definite gender. Non Binaries have no gender.
Since community members don’t stick to the gender norms that society has created, this can result in bullying and harassment. People are so used to the gender and sexuality norms that when they’re introduced to the LGBTQIA+ community, sometimes they don’t understand and act against members of the community by bullying and harassing them. This normally doesn’t end well, even in the movies.
If you or others you know would like to participate in the Day of Silence, the most you would need is patience and a roll of tape or a marker. With the tape, students cover their mouths to vow their silence. With the marker, they draw an ‘X’ over their mouth or if they can not participate they draw an ‘X’ on their hand to show their support.
