Group protests discrimination with silence

By Robby McGuire
Cardinal Staff

Students might have noticed that campus was a little quieter on Friday, April 17, as students from the campus LGBTA -SAFE (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies - Supportive And Friendly Environment) club participated in the 13th annual Day of Silence.

The event is a student-led peaceful protest aimed at bringing attention to anti-LGBT harassment. Those participating must follow one rule, they must remain silent. The silence is intended to illustrate the silencing effect that harassment has on students perceived or known to be LGBT.

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The Day of Silence had humble origins with a handful of participants at the University of Virginia. It is now a nation-wide undertaking encompassing well over 8,000 colleges and universities. This year, Saint Mary’s University joined that list.

Neil Heacox, the public relations officer in the newly formed LGBTA-SAFE, said that the club has been looking for ways to reach out to the LGBT community on campus.

“We decided that we needed to find the community and create a safe place for people who are LGBT or are questioning their orientation as well as educate the Saint Mary’s community,” Heacox said.

Heacox felt that it was time for the SMU campus to join the ranks of the many schools already involved. “Perceived gender expression is one of the top three reasons students report receiving harassment from peers,” he said. Over 90 percent of LGBT students report verbal and physical harassment, and almost one-third have missed school to avoid such harassment. “We can no longer accept these statistics; it’s time to take the initiative and change them,” said Heacox.

“One of the first problems we ran into was, ‘how do we explain the event to the people of Saint Mary’s while remaining silent?’,” Heacox said.

The solution was to carry a small printout and hand it to any students with questions. The club went above and beyond normal event protocol and created unique t-shirts. Most event organizers simply order the default t-shirt, available from the event website.

“We thought it would be a fun group activity and a creative way to promote the event,” said Heacox. “All in all, I thought people really liked it.”

Next year, the club plans to expand the event. There is some talk of scheduling an entire week to promote the issue, culminating in the Day of Silence. Heacox reiterated that the club events are open to everyone. He said that people are often afraid to support activities such as these for fear of being labeled.

“This fear is something that LGBT students live through for much of their lives,” he said. He added that if everyone could fight this harassment together, it would be much more effective. “So come out next year!” Heacox said.