Because of Spring Break, Westmont HS in San Jose will hold its first ever Day of Silence on Tuesday, April 16th. In addition, they will be hosting a Night of Noise event that evening. All are invited to attend!

NIGHT OF NOISE

A night of musical celebration of tolerance and acceptance

Featuring music by:

PROP808 * ROBOCHUB * Code*454 * And many more!

Tuesday, April 16th
Doors open at 6:00pm - Music ends at 10:30pm
Westmont HS Cafetorium

$5 at the door.

All proceeds go to Amnesty International for their work in addressing human rights issues around the world.

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4. Day of Silence Press Release from GSA Network and GLSEN

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Carolyn Laub, GSA Network, 415-552-4229, cell 415-235-4556
Chadwick Bovee, GLSEN, 212-727-0135 x105; Pager 888-454-1446

CALIFORNIA STUDENTS MAKE NOISE IN CLOSE TO 150 SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING IN NAT'L DAY OF SILENCE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 00, 2002) Students in nearly 150 high schools and colleges across California will be offering a much-needed lesson in equality and fairness when they participate in the April 10th Day of Silence, a national effort drawing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people because of harassment and discrimination. In the state, much of the Day of Silence activity will focus on a recent state law prohibiting harassment and discrimination against LGBT students in schools.

"The sound of silence will be deafening in California -- and these students' message of equality and safety will be heard nationwide," said Eliza Byard, Deputy Executive Director of the national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), who noted that students in more than 1200 schools have signed on across the country.

Carolyn Laub, Executive Director of the statewide Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network) noted the Day's particular relevance in California, where many students are using it as a platform for educating their schools about the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (AB 537) -- a measure that went into effect in January 2000 protecting students from discrimination and harassment on the basis of real and perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. "Increasingly, students in California are speaking out to say that passing a school non-discrimination law is not enough -- the hundreds of youth participating in the Day of Silence will make it loud and clear that schools must make student safety and violence prevention a priority," said Laub.

Also part of the coordination of the Day of Silence Project is the all-youth Leadership Team, which provides peer support to students across the country who are organizing the Day of Silence. Two of its members, Nikira Hernandez and Sumi Braun, are based in California. "The incredible interest from students demonstrates the urgent need for California schools to implement AB 537 and address discrimination and harassment that LGBT students face," said Braun.

The Day of Silence Project, the largest student-led action on LGBT issues in the country, is a day in which participants take a vow of silence in order to protest the discrimination and harassment faced by LGBT people and their allies. Instead of speaking, participants hand out cards printed with a message that explains why they have chosen to participate in the silent protest.

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Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network) is a youth-led organization that empowers youth to fight homophobia through Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in California schools. With 250 GSA clubs in California, GSA Network is the largest statewide organization of students working to create safe schools. Visit http://www.gsanetwork.org for more information.

GLSEN is the largest national network of parents, students, educators and others working to end anti-LGBT bias in K-12 schools. Established nationally in 1995, the organization has become one of the nation's leading voices for equality and safety in America's educational system. Visit http://www.glsen.org for more information.

The Day of Silence can be found online at http://www.dayofsilence.org. Reporters may contact the GSA Network at the numbers above for assistance in identifying California students and educators participating in the Day of Silence.

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5. Day of Silence Article in San Francisco Chronicle

Below, you will find the text to the SF version of a Chronicle article on the Day of Silence. To see other local versions (with quotes from youth organizers), check out the following links:

Peninsula:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/05/PN77408.DTL

Contra Costa and the Tri-Valley area:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/05/CC202000.DTL

East Bay:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/05/EB188720.DTL

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Students fight discrimination with sound of silence
Justino Aguila, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, April 5, 2002

San Francisco -- At least three schools in San Francisco plan to participate in Day of Silence, a peaceful, national event that intends to unify students who want to stop discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.

City College of San Francisco, Lincoln High and Parkway Heights Middle School are among the nearly 1,000 schools in the country that will observe the day on or around Wednesday. Participating students take a nine-hour pledge of silence; instead of speaking, they hand out informational cards to educate those around them about the prejudices that their peers and others face.

For the first time, the 7-year-old grassroots campaign is being sponsored by New York's Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Day of Silence was started in 1996 by Maria Pulzetti, a student at the University of Virginia who began her daylong vow of silence with supporters, gay and straight, who wanted to educate others about the harassment gays face daily.

"The process of planning Day of Silence and then having it is very empowering," said Emilie Eagan, 22, Northern California community organizer with the Gay-Straight Alliance Network in San Francisco. "It has impact that's very visible."

The Gay-Straight Alliance Network provides students in GSA clubs throughout the state with support and resources to help them develop leadership skills and network with straight allies, Eagansaid.

On Wednesday students will hand out cards with national statistics. For example, 85 percent of LGBT students hear homophobic remarks frequently or often. More than 80 percent of the faculty or staff never or only sometimes intervene, according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's National School Climate Survey, which is collected every two years and was most recently released last year.

The statistics are a "national snapshot of anti-LGBT bias" in kindergarten through high school, the organizers said. The survey received exposure through MTV, which signed on to help release its results.

The findings also show that more than 83 percent of those surveyed reported verbal harassment such as name calling and threats. Nearly 22 percent of students said they have been physically assaulted, while more than 80 percent reported there were no positive portrayals of LGBT people or history in any class.

According to Eliza Byard, the network's deputy executive director, student participation is up 500 percent from last year. She credits the Internet and a vigorous word-of-mouth campaign.

"Day of Silence is a tremendously powerful way for young people to educate their peers and their communities about harassment and violence that silences LGBT students all too often in their schools," Byard said. "This is about human and civil rights issues."
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empowering youth activists to fight homophobia in schools

Carolyn Laub
Executive Director
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
160 14th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
ph:415.552.4229
fax:415.552.4729
carolyn@gsanetwork.org
http://www.gsanetwork.org/
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