Even though many of the students participating in Wednesday’s national Day of Silence had red tape across their mouths, their message against discrimination was loud and clear.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students from the University and local high schools, along with their allies, took a daylong vow of silence to make a statement against harassment and discrimination against LGBTQ youth.
South Eugene High School junior Jordan Enge said the vow of silence and the red duct tape students wore was meant to emphasize the difficulties LGBTQ students face in school and at home.
“That exaggeration shows people how intense it really is,” he said, adding that anti-gay sentiments are common at his high school. “We’re silent all day, symbolically, but what we’re really going to do is try to act to end the silence.”
The day is organized nationally by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network in collaboration with the United States Student Association, according to http://www.dayofsilence.com. The student-led event was founded in 1996 at the University of Virginia. Since then, the day has become one of the largest student-led actions toward ending discrimination in schools, according to the Web site.
Springfield High School junior Devin McGeehan said the silence was representative of the suppression LGBTQ youth face in speaking out about their sexuality.
“There’s a huge portion of the student population who can’t express who they are because it’s considered socially unacceptable,” he said. “The silence kind of symbolizes the silence that queer youth face on a daily basis.”
University junior Hanna Persson said LGBTQ students don’t always feel safe discussing their sexuality in school environments or at home, which is why the group encourages people to speak openly about the issues.
“I think a lot of people don’t necessarily feel safe coming out,” he said. “It ends up being a big part of a person’s life that they don’t talk about.”
Persson said the message to speak out against discrimination is particularly important in today’s social climate, which has been stirred up by controversies over same-sex marriages.
“People have had homophobic experiences on campus,” Persson said.
The day began with taped mouths and was followed by a march that began outside the EMU Amphitheater and ended at South Eugene High School. Along the way, passers-by stopped to take notice of the silent group and read the signs, which stated “queers are everywhere” and “hear my silence.”
University senior Michael Koopman stopped to get a better look at the marchers as they walked down East 13th Avenue. He said he felt the message was important and that the method seemed effective.
“I think that this approach is a lot more effective than people screaming at the top of their lungs,” he said. “I ignore people when they yell because it just annoys me.”
Drivers honked their car horns and some waved and yelled in support as the crowd made its way to the high school. Once there, about 45 students and community members gathered in silence and for the school to let out. With a rush of high school students walking by, the group took one last breath through their noses and ripped off the red tape. They burst into joyous screams and yells as they broke the vow of silence. Students and community members then spoke to the crowd about their personal experiences and called for an end to discrimination.
PFLAG co-President Elise Self spoke to the crowd representing the local chapter of the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays national gay rights organization.
She told the crowd of her experience with her lesbian daughter and the importance of family support.
“Silence hurt my child and my
family until we broke that silence,” she said, explaining the challenges of developing open and supportive dialogue among family members concerning her daughter’s sexuality. “With breaking our silence, we became empowered; we became proud.”
Guadalupe Quinn, the Lane County regional coordinator for Oregon’s statewide Immigrant Rights Coalition (Causa), also spoke in support of equal rights for everyone.
“I believe that everybody has the right to be treated with respect and human dignity, regardless of who they are,” she said. “Everyone has a right to be who they are, everybody has a right to choose who they are.”