Call to Action for Safer Schools

In less than four days from now thousands of students across the United States will participate in 'National Day of Silence'.

Now in its 12th year, the 'Day of Silence' event was first held in 1996, to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying, and harassment suffered by gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans-gender students on college and university campuses.  University of Virgina student Maria Pulzetti, then 18 years of age, was inspired to create the event after writing a paper on nonviolent protest and grass-roots organizing.

In 1997, Pulzetti and Jessie Gilliam developed the project to be used in schools nationwide and renamed it 'National Day of Silence'.  In 1998, students in high schools joined the event, and today approximately 5,000 schools participate nation-wide.

This year's national demonstration is also in honor of Lawrence King, the 15 year-old youth brutally murdered in February at E. O. Green Junior High School by a 14 year-old classmate. Lawrence was allegedly murdered for his sexual orientation and gender identity expression.

More information on 'National Day of Silence' can be obtained at http://www.dayofsilence.org/content/news.html

Cross-Reference NP Articles: Brain Dead, Another Child Dies at the Hands of School Violence and Activists Alarmed, Demand Better Protection for GLBT Youth.