Imagine having to be silent all the time and not being able to be yourself because you are afraid you will be made fun of or put down. This is how LGBT+ students feel everyday all over the nation.
Here are some of the reasons that LGBT+ students wanted to start back up the Day of Silence at Liberty.
“University of Virginia started the Day of Silence in the 1990’s, but has become an international movement since then,” junior Logan Allan said. “Over 8,000 high schools and colleges are participating mainly due to organizations such as GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) that are focused on ensuring safety for all students and are supporting the day of silence.”
Liberty has participated in the Day of Silence before but this is the first time in over five years that the school has contributed to this event. Many students believe it has brought a lot of awareness to LGBT+ students and what they go through every day.
“Although it may seem like staying silent is not doing much, sometimes actions speak louder than words,” Allan said.
This movement also was a way for student to voice their opinions without saying anything along, with advertising the club.
“It’s a way to stand up and to raise our opinions on something most people don’t like to talk about,” sophomore Maddie Gholston said. “I know there are a lot of people that get bullied even though it doesn’t necessarily happen very openly here.”
Liberty encouraged all students to participate in the Day of Silence by cutting any unnecessary conversation out of their day. Although students were supposed to stay silent, it was required to participate in class if called on.
“I think they really gain knowledge on how impactful it is to have to stay silent all the time because if you think about it you’re always having conversations with people and so not being able to have those conversations really shows how impactful having to stay silent because of who you are is,” junior Kenadi Browne said.
Browne said small acts, such as staying silent for a day, make a huge impact on many people and the cause they are fighting for.
“We were really successful this year and we are hoping for a larger turn out next year,” club director Holly Deatherage-Larsen said. “This year we were just shy of 90 participants and I think it really brought more awareness to high school students and made an impact in their lives.”