More than 250 University students participating in the Day of Silence handed cards to their teachers and friends on Wednesday that said, “My deliberate silence echoes the silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices.”
The Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies was founded in 1996 by students at the University of Virginia. Since then, the Day of Silence has become a large student-led action toward making schools safer for people regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. An estimated 100,000 students participated in 2002, its Web site states.
At the University, 16 participants gathered on the Humpy Lumpy Lawn Wednesday at 5 p.m. to break their day-long silence and reflect on their experiences of the day.
“Loud noises!,” student Jason Nicholas shouted through a bullhorn, signaling yells and applause from those circled around him.
Walton Complex Director Melissa Morgan, who coordinated the program, said “When you go all day without talking, it’s amazing to hear the sound of your voice again.”
“It’s interesting how different people interpret silence,” Morgan said, “When you’re not talking, people treat you differently.”
In Morgan’s past experiences, others respond to her silence by whispering, talking louder or simply avoiding her.
“People wouldn’t sit by me today in Econ because I wasn’t talking,” freshman Emma Kallaway said.
Sophomore Seth Baker said, “A lot of people asked me how I was doing. They thought there was something wrong with me.”
The 16 participants reflected on the obstacles associated with an absence of language, but as freshman James Crosby said, “It’s not so much a lack of speech but a lack of expression.”
“When you can’t speak, you feel like you are only 80 percent of a person,” said student Jordan Robb.
Freshman Tyler Welty said “You’d find yourself excluded from a group even if you were in it.”
Most participants noted that they tended to cling to other participating students who understood the cause for their silence and didn’t expect any conversation. When they were free to speak at last, Welty and others said they found participating in the Day of Silence easier at the University than at their hometown high schools.
To Carson/Earl Complex Director Drew Morgan, spending the day in silence was about “the recognition that there are people in this position and they don’t choose to be.”
“For me,” said Melissa Morgan, “the Day of Silence is all about experiencing the oppression that many people experience everyday.”
Melissa Morgan called her participation in the Day of Silence “an empowering experience,” saying, “my voice sounds louder because I’ve been silent all day.”
Emma Kallaway reflected on what participating in the Day of Silence drove her to consider.
“If you can be silent all day,” she said, “can you take 10 seconds out of your life to say something about it?”