Have you ever wondered what everyone’s talking about when they say, “Are you participating in the Day Of Silence?” This is a day that is significant, particularly in the LGBT community. Students at the University of Virginia started this movement in 1996, in response to an assignment on non-violent protest, and over 150 students participated in the event. In 1997, the movement went national, and nearly 100 colleges and universities became a part of it. In 2008, hundreds of thousands of students from over 8,000 K-12 schools, colleges, and universities participated in this event, making it one of the largest student-led actions in the United States.

What is the Day Of Silence, you might ask? The DOS is a national movement that acknowledges the struggles of LGBT people in society. This event aims to make a statement and to silence the bullying and harassment of the LGBT community which has resulted in many suicide acts and attempts throughout the world. In fact, suicide contemplation is common with LGBT teens of today; they are given more of a hard time and can’t take the constant aggravation. They feel that it isn’t fair that they are being treated differently for being who they are, and that they should have the same rights as any straight person born into this world.

Discrimination against LGBT people has been around for a while now, and continues to pass down from generation to generation. Some straight families are raising their children to shun anyone that fits the LGBT description. Those type of families raise anti-LGBT children, and make it hard for those kids to accept anything other than what they were raised to believe. This creates tension between the heterosexual and homosexual people of today. The straight community believes that being a part of a society that has feelings for the same sex is disgusting and unnatural, but some straight people are more accepting than others.

The Day of Silence is a great way for the LGBT people and their straight allies to make a national statement without having to say anything. This powerful movement is celebrated worldwide and takes place on April 20. Many people participate every year; we even had some student Lobos participating in this movement. They will also be attending a parade for gay pride on May 20th. The students participating are members of Rancho Dominguez Prep’s GSA. Hopefully, you participated in the DOS and showed respect to the LGBT community in their efforts to silence the bullying and harassment of LGBT people across the world.