The hallways of our school held only a quiet hum last week. Students were proud to show their support for the LGBT youth as they participated in a full school day of not speaking. They took a vow of silence for one whole day at school in honor of those who suffer in on their own everyday, more specifically members who are part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. The event was organized and established by the Gay-Straight Alliance club, led by science teachers Ms. Wick and Ms. Fasolino. Students were all quiet at Walpole High School for the second Day of Silence late last week on Thursday, May 10.
After the full day of not speaking, anyone who wanted to show up were invited to an after party in Ms. Fasolino’s room. Snacks and refreshments were out for grabs. The room was filled with smiles after a long exhausting day of refraining their speech. Students were reluctant to no longer need to use their hands to communicate with their peers. “I personally thought of it as a way to take a stand and get people to notice that this is a problem. I think by not talking people really opened their eyes and took a second to pay attention” says senior Rebecca Goula, who participated in the Day of Silence for the second year in a row.
At what seemed like almost perfect timing, President Barack Obama proudly annouced his stance on same sex marriage. On May 9, just hours before our school’s Day of Silence, Obama’s Twitter account blew up as his team tweeted a quote directly from the president himself which said, “Same-sex couples should be able to get married.” After North Carolina made it illegal for same-sex couples to get married, Obama made this announcement on a televisied broadcast. The next day, he visited a George Clooney fundraiser where he explained to the crowd, that it was a “logical extension of what America is supposed to be. It grew directly out of this difference in visions. Are we a country that includes everybody and gives everybody a shot and treats everybody fairly?”
Though many people are up in arms after Obama stated his stance and support for gay couples, it would be an understatement to say that the LGBT youth and members of the Gay Straight Alliance are ecstatic and proud. Hearing the main man behind the goverment say that he supports gay marriage brought a large sigh of relief among these individuals. This announcement potentially shows that the acceptance of gay couples and marraige is slowly but surely flourishing in our country.
With the good turnout for the Day of Silence this year, the GSA Diversity Club hopes to continue the event every year. “Both LGBT students and the rest of the of the Walpole High School student population benefit from the Day of Silence” says group leader senior Jaquil Brooks. With President Obama’s support and a huge chunk of Walpole High’s support, the GSA Diversity club is growing into a very benficial part of our school.
