Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Nicole Halama was among many of her KHS classmates who took this adage to heart and participated in the Day of Silence, April 17, 2009. 10
“I take part in this day because I have friends who I want to support, and I want people to understand how important this day is to me,” Halama, senior, who has participated three times before, said.
The Day of Silence is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in an attempt to create safer schools and environments for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, according to Scott Emanuel, advisor for Growing American Youth, a support organization for youth of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.
“Day of Silence is an important day for the LGBT community because it is a way of peacefully protesting and shedding light on the need for equality,” Emanuel said. “Every student, gay or straight, has the ability to make a difference in his or her school, and that is why this day is so powerful.”
Matt Dumke, junior and president of Kirkwood’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), also believes in the power of the Day of Silence and has participated every year since he began attending KHS.
“Day of Silence is important because it allows members and non-members of GSA to spread the word of equality throughout not only individual groups but the entire student body,” Dumke said. “The message of Day of Silence is to show people that discriminating against others based on their sexual orientation is wrong. The silence is a symbol of all those who have been silenced by being hurt, or even killed, based on their sexual orientation.”
According to Emanuel, another important point of the day is making all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, realize they have others to turn to.
“We don’t know anyone but ourselves and that sometimes makes us feel alone,” Emanuel said. “But during the Day of Silence, allies come out of the woodwork and show that we are never actually alone.”
Students who participate in Day of Silence wear signs around their neck that explain why they chose to take part in the silent protest against discrimination. If students cannot stay silent for the whole day some wear a card that says, “I support the Day of Silence.”
According to Dumke, at the end of the Day of Silence, participating students gathered in the courtyard, held hands and screamed, breaking their day long silence to show that no one needs to be silenced or discriminated against based on their specific sexual orientation.
Halama took part in the protest and remained silent because she wanted to help make KHS a more accepting environment.
“I believe staying silent makes a difference because the people who are not taking part in the day see the amount of people, just in one school, trying to make a difference by not talking for a day,” Halama said. “Hopefully [staying silent] will encourage others to participate the next year and make the number of participants greater.”
Halama believes her silence and the silence of her classmates on April 17 made an impact and proved that Martin Luther King Jr. was right; silence can speak much louder than words.