Staff Writer
Charlotte Observer
Students across the Charlotte region are participating today in the national "Day of Silence" observation to express solidarity with gay and lesbian students who have been bullied and harassed.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school officials say the event is taking place without incident on most campuses, despite earlier talk of counter protests from students who feel they are being pressured to mute their opposition to gay rights.
By noonday, the only incident reported had been anti-gay graffiti scrawled on a campus rock at Providence High School. The graffiti was discovered on the rock before school opened, and was removed before students arrived for classes, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Sgt. David Schwob.
Asked at mid-morning about the graffiti, Providence Principal Terri Cockerham replied, "If there was, it's news to me." She said she noticed no students wearing buttons or T-shirts in support or opposition to the Day of Silence. She added that it was hard to tell which students were participating, if any, because all they were doing is keeping silent.
"It's just a regular school day here," she said.
The Day of Silence is a national event in which students remain mute at school to call attention to the bullying -- and effective silencing -- of homosexual, bisexual and transgender students.
For the rest of the article hit the link provided above.
Let this plea for peace be the grim reminder
we need in order to remember how important this day is. For more information about the Day of Silence protests happening across America in our schools visit dayofsilence.org."The Day of Silence is about safer schools, tolerance and positive change. Some organizations misrepresent these facts. Here are 4 Truths about a day that has brought hope to students experiencing anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment."
1) The Day of Silence’s purpose is to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment and effective responses.
The goal of the Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. In a Harris Interactive study on bullying, students said two of the top three reasons students are harassed in school are actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. Additionally, 4 out of 5 LGBT students experience harassment at school.
Students across the country participate in the Day of Silence to bring attention to this problem, let students who experience such bullying know that they are not alone and ask schools to take action to address the problem.
2) Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs, backgrounds and sexual orientations participate in the Day of Silence.
Anti-LGBT bullying and harassment affects all students. Slurs such as “faggot” and “dyke” are commonplace in school. The Day of Silence is an example of students, from middle school to college, working together proactively to bring attention to the anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by LGBT and straight students alike. GLSEN, the Day of Silence’s organizational sponsor, encourages participants to be counted by registering at www.dayofsilence.org.
Students from nearly 5,000 middle and high schools registered for the 2007 Day of Silence. GLSEN protects the privacy of students and does not publish a list of students who have registered or their schools. Many students who participate also belong to Gay-Straight Alliance student clubs, of which nearly 4,000 are registered with GLSEN. The first GSA was created by a straight student nearly 20 years ago, in the fall of 1988.
3) Day of Silence participants encourage schools to implement proven solutions to address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment.
Adopt and implement a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that enumerates categories such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression/identity.
Provide staff trainings to enable school staff to identify and address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment effectively and in a timely manner.
Support student efforts to address anti-LGBT bullying and harassment on campus, such as the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance.
Institute age-appropriate, factually accurate and inclusive curricula to help students understand and respect difference within the school community and society as a whole.
4) The day is a positive educational experience.
The Day of Silence is an opportunity for students to work toward improving school climate for all students. GLSEN advises students interested in participating to discuss their intentions with their administration and teachers long before the event.
The day is most successful when schools and students work together to show their commitment to ensuring safe schools for all students. Many schools allow students’ participation throughout the day. Some schools ask students to speak as they normally would during class and remain silent during breaks and at lunch. There is no single way to participate, and students are encouraged to take part in the way that is the most positive and uplifting for their school.
11 comments:
Perhaps you would appreciate reading Camila Paglia's comments on the Lawrence King tragedy. Perhaps you can judge the comments from her, a very secular lesbian, on their own merits, without the baggage that may come with similar comments from Trad Catholics, and perhaps you can refrain from accusing her of excusing murder.****"... the school itself was clearly negligent in permitting a troubled young man to strike dangerously theatrical attitudes on school property and …classroom….wearing pink lipstick and purple eye shadow and openly flirting with other boys. Were his teachers in a p.c. coma? Were they so drunk with utopian political rhetoric about "tolerance" that they were blind to a 15-year-old's psychological vertigo? … He needed protection against his own fantasies....it is perfectly reasonable to require orderly norms of dress and behavior in a public space like junior high school."
Pink lipstick and purple eye shadow are harmless.
Flirting is harmless, I flirted when I was in school,. Never did me or anyone any harm.
Thanks John, and don't forget the high heels.
You are missing the point - in this case and others - it did tremendous harm
is it not "perfectly reasonable to require orderly norms of dress and behavior in a public space like junior high school."?
"is it not "perfectly reasonable to require orderly norms of dress and behavior in a public space like junior high school."?"
Yes
And Goth dress, hippie dress and alternate forms of gender expression are all reasonable.
well, no John, they are not orderly norms
they are for kids who want to rebel, show off and make spectacles out of themselves
they are a distraction to education
I am all for an anti-bullying day
I just don't think gays have exclusivity on being bullied
Expressing our individuality is a time honored American tradition.
We don't all have to look alike to get along.
true - but it sure makes it a lot easier
and less distracting in a public school
I understand that Larry King's attire and behavior had a lot of the kids talking, but if he wasn't there to talk about the other kids would simply find something else. That's what people do is they gossip.
I agree that in a rigidly structured setting children would be less distracted by each other.
Do we need to have this rigid setting? I would think that as children grow up and begin to recognize they are individuals we shuold encourage them to pursue their own unique strengths.
The bottom line is that Larry King's parents allowed and encouraged him to find his own identity, so he did. In finding his own identity that was far from the social norm it challenged other kids to respond to his behavior. The normal response would be to gossip, not murder.
When people start blaming the victims of crime for causing the crime itself there is something very wrong with their logic. I'm not saying that is what Paul is doing, but it is coming close so I want to address it.
well I would say the normal response is ridicule. What are young children to make of a cross dressing student? It's entirely normal to laugh at that behavior.
I'm not saying its right - but it certainly is and would be an unusual sight.
I would think he could have played it down at school, out of respect of keeping the classroom focused.
I think there should be uniforms at all schools - the great equalizer!
That's just a reality, and the parents should have realized this.
commom sense should have prevailed.
Paul, we agree on this. Children will gossip and riddicule each other, just as adults do. My concern is that the freedom of speech does not turn to violence.
We have much to learn from each other, but we can't learn all there is unless we are allowed to be ourselves. Who knows how much greater America will be once we embrace all diversity.
There are things we will find distasteful and in the classroom there can be standards close to uniform, even in public schools.
I'm not convinced that trailblazers like Larry King would have been hindered uniform codes. He would have found other ways to express himself.
In the end we have to stand together and denounce all forms of violence, our differences in the standards of public conduct not withstanding the importance of this.
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