Various students will be spending the day in silence today for the Day of Silence, a student-led event created by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and the United States Student Association.

The Day of Silence symbolizes the struggle that students who are silenced by prejudice, discrimination and harassment face in speaking out about their sexual orientations. This year, the Day of Silence is during a week of anti-hatred campaigning organized by several clubs at Gunn called “Not In Our School.”

Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club advisor Karen Oppenheim believes that acceptance and support from students on days like the Day of Silence invites openness. “The Day of Silence serves as an essential reminder to people who are struggling with their sexual identity that there are many more people in their community who understand their pain and accept and support their choices,” Oppenheim said. “I wish it were as possible for a gay student or teacher to casually mention ‘my partner’ in front of a class as it is for me to mention, in passing, ‘my husband.’”

GSA president junior Reese Probst hopes that today will make people reflect on how much some students have to endure to be accepted. “Schools are great because they provide an area for many different opinions and ideas to be heard,” Probst said. “When someone feels unable to express themselves, for whatever reason, it hurts not only that person, but the entire school community.”

Probst also hopes that students will join in the action by not speaking for the day or as much time as they can. “It is a relatively small gesture, but when everyone does it, it is very powerful,” Probst said.

Sophomore Ilana Cartun will also be participating in the Day of Silence. “I encourage people to participate to the best of their abilities as long as they know the reasons behind why they aren’t speaking,” Cartun said.

Cartun has mixed feelings about the Day of Silence, however. “It’s a good thing to commemorate, but it doesn’t seem like it’s accomplishing very much,” Cartun said. “Hopefully it will.”

Sophomore Shani Chabansky, who participated in last year’s Day of Silence, agrees. “Even though the intent is good, I think the Day of Silence is the wrong way of getting the point across,” Chabansky said.

Participants receive a flyer for the Day of Silence to explain why they aren’t talking. It ends with the statements, “Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?”