‘Day of silence’ for bullied gays

More than 100 students at Lewis-Palmer High School will be as quiet as they can be April 25 to observe the "Day of Silence," a national event to call attention to bullying of gay kids.

Organizer Jennifer Teevens, a senior at Lewis-Palmer, said she doesn't consider her school unsafe for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. But that doesn't mean there are no problems.

"There is a lot of discriminatory terms towards gays being thrown around in school, which I don't think is right, but there are people who are very accepting," she said.

Students at other schools in the Pikes Peak region also observe the Day of Silence. The annual event is organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a New York-based group that says on its Web site more than 500,000 students nationwide have participated in previous years.

Students who participate pledge not to talk for the day except to respond to questions from a teacher.

"We have set up a way to honor the kids' decision to participate without interrupting the educational process," said Robin Adair, a spokeswoman for Lewis-Palmer School District 38.

In addition to not talking, students will wear stickers indicating their participation and pass out "speaking cards" that tell recipients about the observance. The 2008 event is dedicated to the memory of Lawrence King, a 15-yearold gay student from Oxnard, Calif., who was fatally shot Feb. 12 by a classmate, according to news reports.

Nothing like that has happened in the Pikes Peak region, but Teevens said she's been "teased and taunted" and had objects thrown at her in school because she is bisexual. She said the Day of Silence will help illustrate the effects of harassment.

"When you're silent, you don't have any words, you can't express yourself, it's pretty much showing how students can't be who they are," she said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0187 or perry.swanson@gazette.com