Source: Providence Journal, Arizona Republic, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Modesto Bee, Seattle Times, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum

The school's namesake peak overlooks the entrance to Mount Si High in Snoqualmie, WA. Only about 100 anti-gay demonstrators showed up at the school Friday, despite a month of promotion of the demonstration by national anti-gay groups. seaQwa photo: Robin Evans

A few of the students who participated in yesterday's National Day of Silence in Providence, Rhode Island told the Providence Journal's Linda Borg how it felt to see so many of their fellow students wearing the gray t-shirts that represented participation in the silent protest.

Borg found that students seemed moved by the experience, none more so than Charvy Doung, a 16-year-old transsexual who said that the sea of gray T-shirts made him realize how much support he has among his classmates.

“People need to know what we feel every day,” Doung said. “Some teenagers are scared. Some are hiding. I feel safe in this school.”

The National Day of Silence is held every year to call attention to anti-gay and lesbian harassment. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of students took an oath of silence for all or part of the day. This year’s event honored Lawrence King, a 15-year-old California student who was shot and killed in February by a classmate because of King’s sexual orientation.

Andrew Dellorffano, a sophomore, said the Day of Silence drove home his belief that it “doesn’t matter what’s on the outside; it’s what’s inside that counts.”

Holding in all those words, all those feelings, made Vanisha Joseph feel like she was about to burst: “I really like to talk and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath, like I was going crazy.”

“I told my friend that the Day of Silence is a metaphor,” said freshman Jeffrey Boyer. “If you have been silenced, it’s because you are afraid to speak out. Knowledge is power. The more you know about your surroundings, the less you want to do bad.”

At Feinstein High School in Providence, more than a third of the student body -- 130 pupils -- learned what it was like to remain silent when every bone in your body wants to speak out, Providence Journal reports. That’s what every day can feel like when you’re gay and you hear homophobic slurs tossed around the hallway, the bus stop and the streets.

At Feinstein, students and a smattering of teachers wore gray T-shirts that said, “Silence is the most powerful scream” and “58,000 — the number of homophobic slurs you’ll hear by the time you graduate from high school.”

The Day of Silence challenged students to think about their own behavior. When a classmate uses an anti-gay slur, do you speak out and run the risk of being ridiculed or harassed or do you remain silent?

In Rochester, New York, Dalton LaBarge, 17, went to Wilson Magnet High School on Friday wearing duct tape over his mouth and a black t-shirt with the words, "Think about the voices you are not hearing today" printed across the front.

In Modesto, California sophomore Jacob Shackelford walked an Enochs High School hallway on Friday with his girlfriend on one arm and a black armband that said "Erase Hate" on the other.

The 16-year-old, who is straight, spent most of his day in silence to bring attention to the name-calling and bullying experienced by some of his gay and lesbian classmates. Jacob said he was the target of glares and some homosexual slurs in return.

"I just kept my head high and kept walking," he said. "I support my friends the way they are. I wish more people saw that."

In Bacyrus, Ohio, only a handful of students participated in Day of Silence, but Bucyrus High senior Julez Bilowich, who organized the observance, was delighted by the response.

"We have never done anything like this here before. It's about time for Bucyrus to get on the acceptance boat and celebrate diversity," said Bilowich, who is spearheading the event at her school.

Bilowich wants people to know it's not about gay rights.

"It's about putting an end to bullying in our schools," Bilowich said.

Bilowich's classmate, Ann Hoag, also took part.

"I think it's wrong for others to harass students who choose to make their own decisions on how they want to live their life," Hoag said.

But the day started with extra tension at Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, Arizona.

Desert Ridge was one of several schools throughout the country where some parents had responded to a month of persistent calls by right wing groups to put a stop to the anti-bullying observance.

But despite a tumultuous month of disputes over a gay-straight alliance's observance of the Day of Silence, students at the Arizona school were able to hold a peaceful observance Friday that was ensured by an increased presence of police officers.

About 275 of the students at the Mesa school remained silent for most of the day to raise awareness about the bullying of gays and their straight supporters, school officials told the Arizona Republic.

The kids at Desert Ridge donned yellow cards explaining the reason for their silence.

Sophomore Hailey Jensen recalled her friends' reactions when she told them she would participate.

"My friends were like, 'It's going to be really hard for you not to talk all day long,' " she said. "But if it's something you feel really passionately about, . . . it's not hard."

One Desert Ridge parent, Randy Bellino, kept his son out of school Friday and held a pool party for his friends. The son reportedly received a death threat Thursday, but Mesa police officers say they haven't found any evidence to substantiate a threat.

There were silent protesters across the street from Bellino's residence Friday.

Critics usually launch a counterprotest, such as Monday's Day of Truth, sponsored by a conservative Scottsdale-based group, the Alliance Defense Fund, which encourages students opposed to homosexuality to speak out.

This year, a conservative coalition, Mission: America, also asked parents to keep their kids at home on the Day of Silence.

The principal of Desert Ridge High, Daniel Coombs, said about 200 to 250 students of the 2,400 enrolled were absent Friday, a high number even for a typical Friday.

Mission: America, Focus on Family, and other right-wing groups opposed to the anti-bullying observance had urged parents to keep their kids out of class on Friday.

Schools in Charlotte, South Carolina had also been targeted by organized protests against Day of Silence in the past month.

But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials told Charlotte Observer that Day of Silence observances took place without incident on most local campuses, despite tensions between supporters and others who said they felt pressured to mute their opposition to gay rights.

The only incident involved anti-gay graffiti scrawled on a campus rock at Providence High School. The graffiti was discovered before school opened, and was removed before students arrived for classes, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Sgt. David Schwob.

Otherwise, the school's principal told the Observer, "it's just a regular school day here."

The Day of Silence in Charlotte fell on the same day as the annual Diversity Summit organized by the Charlotte Coalition for Social Justice. The event, held at North Mecklenburg High, gathered about 300 students from high schools across the county to talk about bridging social and cultural gaps.

Students handed out red ribbons to be worn in support of the Day of Silence as they went through workshops on issues such as confronting prejudice and exploring different faiths.

In one workshop, students spoke about how and why students divide themselves into cliques of "jocks," "weirdos" and "wannabes." Allowing students to express themselves is a proactive way of minimizing conflict, said Jose Hernandez-Paris, diversity director for CMS.

One of the student organizers, Kristen Livingston, wore a "GLBT Ally" button in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.

"I'm in full support of the Day of Silence," she said. "We should be allowed to have it at school. We are a diverse culture."

In Rochester, several students at a downtown rally held after Day of Silence observances told the Democrat & Chronicle that the observances at their schools sometimes lead to temporarily increased harassment.

While Day of Silence creates solidarity among those who participate, others sometimes see it as an opportunity for harassment.

LaBarge -- the student who wore duct tape over his mouth -- said classmates spat derogatory language at him.

A cafeteria worker cornered School of the Arts student Lamontie Thurman, 15, and his friends during lunch.

"She told us we were going to hell because we're gay and we support gay marriage and gay rights," Thurman said.

And 18-year-old Anna Burke, a student at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School, said underclassman boys hassled her and mocked her t-shirt.

She knows why Day of Silence is important, but she doesn't enjoy it, because it puts her in the spotlight.
"Normally they'll just say that stuff behind my back," she said.

Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Washington became an unexpected flash-point for anti-gay activists. An area preacher, Ken Hutcherson of Redmond's Antioch Bible Church, whose daughter attends Mount Si predicted he would draw up to 1000 anti-gay demonstrators to the school, which sits near fields in a still-rural area that's quickly becoming a large suburb.

Mission: America, Focus on Family, and other national right wing groups had highlighted Hutcherson's protest.

He and his wife also took out a half-page ad in the Snoqualmie Valley Record calling on residents to join them.

But on Friday morning, he attracted only 100 protesters to the school grounds along with several dozen counter-protesters.

Snoqualmie police placed yellow crime-scene tape between Hutcherson's supporters and about 40 counterdemonstrators, including some former students, who tried to drown out the pastor by beating drums and chanting, "Go home."

Speaking to his small band of followers Friday, Hutcherson said, "We want education, not indoctrination." He said school officials had not listened to parent complaints that the Day of Silence interrupted learning and was more appropriately held before or after school.

"It's not appropriate to have during school," said Lynette Smallwood, the parent of two Mount Si students.

"They're not getting an education."

Ken Lauren, a Redmond parent whose son-in-law teaches at Mount Si, shouted at Hutcherson's group, "Are these the values you want your kids to grow up with -- bigotry, intolerance, hatred?"

His sign read, "I believe in separation of church and hate."

Principal Randy Taylor said 495 out of 1,410 students weren't at school, including 85 athletes whose parents had asked that they be excused for their personal beliefs. Taylor allowed them to skip school but still participate in practices and games later in the day.

Earlier, about 80 parents and supporters of the event, sponsored by the school's Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), stood quietly outside the school as students arrived in the morning. Some wore tie-dye scarves, and a former student waved a rainbow flag.

"We want to let students in the GSA know they have support in the community," said Lucinda Hauser, a Mount Si parent and member of the local Methodist church.

Some students arriving at school honked to support the proponents of gay rights. One student had written on her car window, "It's our school, not your church."

Another student drove an open Jeep blasting the Village People song "Macho Man" and Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out."

Students interviewed later said the atmosphere inside the school was at times tense as students expressed a range of opinions.

About 200 students took training to participate in the Day of Silence. School administrators required the preparation as a way to ensure student safety and to protect the learning environment.

Administrators directed teachers to teach this year and said that students should respond if called upon in class.

Taylor said Friday's observances were a lesson in democracy for students.

"They learned they can express themselves and respect other points of view," he said. The principal also commended teachers at the school who he said were "teaching the curriculum."

Full article: Day of Silence peaceful at Desert Ridge High | Arizona Republic
High schoolers lend silent support to gay peers | Modesto Bee
Teens stay quiet until Day of Silence rally | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Mount Si's gay-rights Day of Silence is far from quiet | Seattle Times
Gay rights protest at schools is quiet | News & Observer
Students take vow of silence | Bucyrus Telegraph Forum