12th Annual National Day of Silence Honors the Memory of Slain Lawrence King On April 25th
This year’s National Day of Silence will be held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15 year-old California student who was shot and killed at school in February by a 14 year-old classmate because of King’s sexual orintation and gender expression.
GLSEN’s 2005 National School Climate Survey found that four out of five LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school. The Day of Silence is one way students and their allies are making anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling unacceptable in America’s schools.
The Day of Silence, a project of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight, Education Network), is a nationwide, student-led event during which thousands of high schools and colleges bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harrassment in schools. www.dayofsilence.org.
Hundreds of thousands of students are expected to participate by taking some form of a vow of silence for the entire day or part of it. The senseless tragedy of Lawarence King’s murder at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, CA brings even more meaning to a day that has brought hope to millions of students.
This year Lance Bass (former ‘N Sync member) made a video urging students to participate in the Day of Silence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah5eUz6iT9s
Do you or someone you love have a problem at school with anti-gay harassment? In Washington State call: 1-877-723-3723 24 hours a day. The phone line is answered at the Sexual Assault Hotline and they will have a Safe Schools Coalition Intervention Specialist volunteer get back to you within 24 hours. http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.