Keep Quiet on National Day of Silence
Thursday April 24, 2008
Are our schools as safe as they can be for our kids, regardless of their sexual identity or gender expression? GLSEN’s 2005 National School Climate Survey found that four out of five LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and 29% report missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety.
The National Day of Silence was started in 1996 by a small group of university students as a call for action for safer, more inclusive school environments. This year, the National Day of Silence, now a project of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), is held on April 25th in memory of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old eighth-grade student in Oxnard, California, was shot and killed by a 14-year-old classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression.
Learn more about the National Day of Silence and how you can help create safer schools for our kids.
Suggested Reading:
How Teachers Can Help Gay Students
Image © Ruben Shito.
Comments
What totally angers me is that NDOS was NOT covered by the local news media. Instead, an asparagus festival in Stockton CA was the headliner story. Last year there was a group of so-called Slavic “Christians” who illegally protested on high school grounds, illegally STALKED the principal to his home AND his place of worship to protest the fact that he allowed National Day of Silence to go ahead at his high school.