This Friday, students around school participated in the Day of Silence, a national day where students remain silent to support the LGBT youth. Anyone is invited to participate, but the students that remained silent around school were mainly members of the Gay Straight Alliance and their friends supporting the cause.
“I’ve had people who are really supportive and admit that they could never stay silent for a day. Then I have people who try to make me talk all day, which I think isn’t the best way to respond to this,” said Terri Kobel, a senior participating the Day of Silence.
But while some students who participate in the Day may believe that others don’t support their cause, the lack of respect may actually come from advertising.
“I didn’t hear anything about [the Day]. Most of the time I’ll hear about these types of days through social media, and I haven’t seen anything about this,” said Meagan Yeh, junior.
According to Kobel, she believes that respect for the day is high, but not as high as it should be. While teachers are always very supportive, she said it’s the students that can pose a problem. But Yeh said that she knew of no one participating, and if she came off as disrespectful, it was unintentional.
The lack of advertising may be the disconnect between those who are unaware and those participating.
“Now that I know this is going on, I respect their decision and what they’re doing. But when I didn’t know before I just thought, ‘Why are you so quiet?’” Yeh said.
In spite of the confusion, there was silence on Friday. Students supported the cause regardless of any onlookers or confusion.
“It’s a day to respect people who are treated unfairly, and I think even if you don’t believe in the cause, it’s still good to be respectful of it,” Kobel said.
