Students silently preaching harmony

Janis Holcombe / senior photographer Freshman Cait Williams (left) and Emily Krechel express themselves without speaking during the 'Day of Silence.'.

"Day of Silence" is a nationwide, student-led display of action to recognize the discrimination the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community faces on a daily basis.

GLBT students and their allies took a voluntary vow of day-long silence on April 13 to show the discrimination experienced by the GLBT community.

"The main objective of the Day of Silence is to make people realize the overt ways, and also the unobvious ways, harassment is shown towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders," senior Patrick Egan said. Egan, the director of Harmony, JMU’s GLBT organization, said the Day of Silence did not only show how prevalent anti-GLBT feelings are, but it also helped build solidarity between its members and allies.

Freshman Matt Winer, a member of Harmony, said anti-GLBT bullying is everywhere, including JMU.

According to the Day of Silence Web site, dayofsilence.org four out of five GLBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school.

"This day should make people aware that the GLBT community is all around them and prove that we are just normal people," Winer said. "I really hope it helps people think twice before making judgments based upon a person’s sexual orientation."

All day, GLBT members wore red to protest discrimination, and set up an intervention table on the commons, equipped with information and statistics about the Day of Silence and Harmony.

The GLBT members and their allies broke their day-long silence at 5 p.m. Christine Robinson, the president of the Shenandoah Valley Gay and Lesbian Association, and assistant professor of sociology and interdisciplinary liberal studies, came to support the cause, and was among the speakers on hand.

Sophomore Carla Paynter was in attendance to show her support as an ally of the GLBT community.

"I have a few gay and lesbian relatives, so I wanted to wear red to show my support for the ‘Day of Silence’," Paynter said. "I think it is a great way for allies to show we protest the unacceptable harassment placed on gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders too."