By Grace BENNETT,
Intern

On April 12, Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS) students participated in the national Day of Silence as a part of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club’s efforts to increase visibility and support members of the lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer plus (LGBTQ+) community.

The event was originally organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in 2001 as an opportunity to shed light on the struggles of and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. In 1996, students at the University of Virginia created the Day of Silence as a non-violent protest in response to an academic assignment. Since its beginnings, and its adoption by GLSEN, the event has taken off in schools across America.

GSA held a club meeting on Friday, April 5 where the leaders talked about the different ways to communicate while participating in the Day of Silence. This included making lanyards with note cards about the history of the Day of Silence that participants could show to their peers, as well as creating contracts allowing the participants to speak during class.

The meeting also educated attendees by playing an online quiz game called Kahoot, where the winners of the game received official GLSEN pins and stickers.

These efforts of preparation from the GSA Club benefited participants on the following Friday when about 30 students participated in the Day of Silence. The mute, yet powerful, protest proved to be successful through many different aspects of the event. For instance, although the people taking part in the activity had limited means of informing their peers of their actions, they compensated by sharing posts on social media explaining why they, individually, stood up for LGBTQ+ rights.

In addition to this method of communication, one of the silent activists and co-publicists of the GSA Club, Riley Helberg, wrote common phrases on her hands as means of quick conversation. Some of these phrases included “please,” “thank you” and “sorry.” Helberg also utilized the notes app on her cellphone to write down more complicated answers to questions; other people, such as Catherine Del Castillo, brought a dry-erase board to school.

The significance of this event was emphasized by the number of people who signed up for the peaceful protest in addition to support from other students. Sarah Ricci, vice president of the GSA Club at CVHS, explained her personal reasoning behind joining the affair.

“There are a lot of people who don’t realize the significant impact that bullying and harassment can have on LGBTQ+ students,” she said. “I think that the Day of Silence is one way in which we can shift our culture to be more respectful towards queer people.”

This step in the direction of combating adversity in the LGBTQ+ community is fundamental in altering society’s outlook on minorities, added Ricci.

With the ongoing support of the LGBTQ+ community in the local community, and nationwide, due to the Day of Silence, the students and faculty of CVHS and citizens of La Crescenta can hope for a more future that is more accepting.

  Grace BENNETT