Last Friday, April 10, students participated in the Day of Silence in support of LGBTQ+ people in schools. All Pascack Valley High School students were invited to join in the day.
The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club Advisor Bonnie Slockett explained how she hoped all students would feel welcome to join in the day.
“Anybody’s able to do it. In fact, we hope other people would be interested in doing it [like] people who are not part of the LGBTQ community, but are allies or have family members and friends who have faced challenges,” said Slockett.
Although staying quiet during certain classes posed challenges, Slockett was hopeful that teachers would respect the students’ silence.
“[The students are] not exempt from doing work, but if teachers would be accommodating, I think that would be really helpful,” explained Slockett.
Flyers were posted throughout the school with tear-off slips that students could take and show to teachers to explain their silence. The idea for the day originally came from members of the club, including Sophomore Bailey Martin and Junior Minty Bentley.
“The students brought it to me and I thought it was a great idea,” said Slockett. “Bailey was the one who came up with the posters,… so people can actually rip the [slip] off… so if people wanted to participate, they could just show the paper to somebody without having to speak.”
“We don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable about not speaking, if they feel that they want to speak…that’s totally fine. It’s just a way to…bring awareness,” explained Slockett.
Minty Bentley, another contributing member of the club and day, explained why they think the Day of Silence is important.
“To me, the Day of Silence is important because it highlights the presence of queer people. To my knowledge, not a ton of people are participating, but those who do are noticed,” said Bentley. “It calls attention to the presence of the queer people in a community; it highlights their contributions…, and it’s symbolic of the silencing of queer people that often happens.”
In addition to helping come up with and set up the day, Bentley was one of the students who chose to stay silent.
“I have chosen to participate in and help organize the Day of Silence because being queer is a large part of my identity. It’s something I’ve never been shy about, and I’ve been lucky enough to be in a community where I’m accepted,” explained Bentley. “Being silent [on the day] and helping to make this happen allows me to honor and support queer people all around the US, to honor those who fought so that we could have the rights we do today and to support those who have been less fortunate than me and have been victims of bullying and discrimination.”
The GSA club is also hoping to become more active in an effort to attract more people to the club. Bentley emphasized that the club is not just for people in the queer community, but also for allies.
“It’s very much just a place to find community,” said Bentley. “It’s for everyone, queer or ally.”
