by E. Ross
Students in Juneau, Fairbanks and Anchorage joined students all over the country on National Day of Silence to protest the name-calling and bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students.
A record number of students and schools participated in National Day of Silence, and some school districts held official anti-bullying events. DoS was held this year in honor of Lawrence King, a California student who was shot and killed in class for being gay.
Around the country, several anti-gay groups demonstrated against Day of Silence, including a well-publicized event at Mount Si High School near Seattle. The groups advised parents to keep their teenagers home from school.
In Alaska, there were no reported protests on Day of Silence. A few weeks before DoS, a city council meeting in Fairbanks became tense because of false claims made by a local anti-gay group. In response, newspaper and TV reports in Anchorage and Fairbanks quoted school district personnel defending the students' right to participate in events like Day of Silence.
Next year's Day of Silence will be held on Friday, April 17, 2009. No Name-Calling Week, an anti-bullying program for grades 5-8, will be held on Jan. 26-30, 2009.
Here are the reports about the Day of Silence activities that occurred in Alaska this year.
Juneau
"We had a great day at the JDHS Day of Silence," said Casady Herding, Juneau-Douglas High School's GSA Advisor.
"About 210 students signed up to take the vow of silence from 8:00 a.m. until our school day ends at 1:10 p.m. Then students broke the silence together in the commons with a collective shout, and there was a follow-up activity with two guest speakers."
"It was a mellow day, since we didn't do a big Night of Noise or rally as we have in the past. No protests like they had in Seattle, no reported harassment. I replied to two parents who had questions about the day's activities, but that was it. I'm hoping this "business as usual" attitude reflects an awareness of others and a safer school climate than we've had in the past."
"In past years, students organized rallies. One year a group of students, staff and parents marched to the capitol and listened to speakers such as Kim Elton and JDHS students. Last year we held a Night of Noise at our local Silverbow Cafe, with performances by the Pride Chorus and student musicians, singers and speakers in an open-mic forum. That was fun!"
Anchorage
Students in the Anchorage area high schools participated in Day of Silence, and celebrated at Pride Prom that night in a late April snow storm.
"I heard from one of the faculty sponsors at Pride Prom that DoS had about 150 participants, a record. Pride Prom had around (just a guess) 30 attendees, certainly reduced because of the snow. I think it went well, nevertheless," said Steph, a Pride Prom chaperone.
"When I left [Pride Prom] about 9:40 p.m., everyone was dancing and having a great time," said Tim Pearson, another chaperone.
Fairbanks
Students from West Valley, Lathrop and North Pole High Schools participated.
"After the initial controversy, things got pretty quiet," said Jeff Walters, West Valley GSA co-advisor. "It helped that the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner wrote an editorial supporting the students' right to participate in the Day of Silence. One of our GSA students wrote a Letter to the Editor that appeared the same day as the editorial. After that, we didn't hear anything negative from the public. Our principal was very supportive. She kept telling the media that West Valley has participated in the Day of Silence for the last five years and nothing would change this year."
A note from Kodiak
"We have a sleeping GSA in Kodiak," said Cid, a school staff member. "It was active, but now it's dormant. They did Day of Silence for 3 years, but that stopped too. The person at the HS who started it left... my hope is to get it going again."
Do you know students who participated in DoS at other Alaskan schools? Homer, Palmer? Where are the "straight but not narrow" students who can help the LGBT youth with this event next year?
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