Students Take a 'Vow of Silence'

It’s a rare experience to be in a room with high school students and hear nothing but silence. Such was the way this past Friday as more than 60 students remained tight lipped in solidarity for the LGBTQ community. The annual National Day of Silence has been observed since 1996 and students at have been participating for five years – every subsequent year, the number of non-speakers grows.

As the school bell rang a group of students from the two clubs who organized the day’s "Vow of Silence" – Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) and Cultural Diversity – gathered in Nancy D’Amato’s classroom to share their experiences and eat some much deserved Oreo cookies.

Straight to the point, junior Allie Condon said, “Our silence is symbolic of their forced silence.”

The National Day of Silence is a school-specific observance created to bring attention to anti-LGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment that happens in schools.

For the most part, students said their experiences during the day were positive and the only harassment some received was from fellow students taunting them because they wouldn’t speak – not because of their cause.

Leader of the Culturual Diveristy Club, Mindy Baker who is also an English teacher said, “I think this event shows what we stand for as a school; that we are tolerant.”

When the day of silence started on Friday, D’Amato, who is the head of the GSA and the family and consumer science teacher, said about 30 students and a few faculty had signed up to participate. By the day’s end, more than 30 others had come to her asking to be added to the list of participants.

Sophomore Veronica Wells said she was impressed by the number of people who took the vow. “The people who weren’t doing it this year are talking about doing it next year.”

, a physical education teacher has observed four years of the event but didn’t participate in “silence” until this year. During the day she sent out Twitter messages sharing her experience.

She said the day was full of many emotions for her: “pain, anger, frustration, sadness, empathy and helplessness.”

“I think the day went well,” said Stackpole. “Some students opened up and shared their personal experiences with hurtful words, others thanked me for participating and explaining what the Day of Silence was all about.  I plan to follow up with a written reflection from students.”

During the day, Stackpole used the experience as a “teaching moment,” listening to students' feelings about tolerance at BHS and sharing a PSA from the Day of Silence website to educate students.

“I can only hope,” said Stackpole, “that the event today will help our students and faculty be more aware of the "silence" and do something to help end it.”

Clad in Day of Silence t-shirts designed by two BHS students, Pierina Lopez and Lauren DaRos (both sophomores), the students were eager for their Friday night to begin and to start taking like usual. Calling the students a “fun group of kids,” D’Amato said, “They are very sociable throughout the school and not just with their own little clique and I think today showed just how intent they were on their beliefs.”

Before exiting for the weekend, Condon said with confidence, “Our motto is, ‘We Dot Put Up with Put Downs,’ and that should go for everyone.”