M-A’s Genders and Sexualities Alliance led the Day of (No) Silence, a national student-led demonstration started by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, last Friday. The demonstration, originating in the 1990s, is usually celebrated on April 4, but because of M-A’s Spring Break, the GSA observed the day on April 18.
During the Day of (No) Silence, previously known as Day of Silence, LGBTQ+ students and allies take a vow of silence to protest the discrimination LGBTQ+ people face at school. However, in 2024, GLSEN changed the demonstration to the Day of (No) Silence to oppose the “current attempted erasure of LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender and nonbinary people, from public life.”
The GSA hosted a jeopardy game on LGBTQ+ history, symbols, and celebrities during lunch on the Green. M-A Today! also broadcasted a segment on Day of Silence and provided mental health resources for the community.
“The video on M-A Today not only informed the purpose of the event but also provided more personal insight on what M-A students and members of GSA are trying to fight for in this unfortunate era of continued and exacerbated discrimination,” GSA President senior Zoe Fong said.
“It’s a mixture between expressing our joys but also focusing on the struggles, harassment, and oppression experienced in the LGBTQ+ community,” sophomore Eliza Crowe said. “The community is struggling right now, but we will get through this, and this day is a great way to be reminded of that.”
Nationally, 82% of LGBTQ+ students reported experiencing harassment or bullying first-hand at their school, and over 30% reported missing school because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable. Just last year, more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in legislation. The Day of Silence allows students to protest the harassment of LGBTQ+ groups throughout the world.
“There is no longer an option to be silent. We need to use our voices to stand up for our rights and existence as a community. This year, we made new Day of (No) Silence buttons to encourage people to speak up and voice their support,” Fong said.
“I participated in the Day of No Silence because it makes me feel part of the community and it’s a way to stand up for it,” sophomore and GSA member Jazmin Lombera said.
Day of Silence is just one of the many ways M-A’s GSA hopes to create a more inclusive campus. GSA meets every Wednesday during flex in S-12. To learn more about GSA, join Remind by texting @ma-gsa to 81010. They offer resources on mental health for queer students, LGBTQ+ rights, local pride centers, and more here.
