A Day of Silence

Campus was a little quieter Wednesday, as nearly 200 students participated in the National Day of Silence sponsored by the Rainbow Alliance. The event is intended to raise awareness for the silence that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders endure every .

All students were invited to take part in the day. Participants wore white T-shirts and National Day of Silence stickers. When anyone tried to talk to them, they handed out small cards explaining their cause.

A table was also set up in Towers Lobby where members of Rainbow Alliance handed the same cards, along with condoms and lubricants. All members at the table remained silent throughout the day.

According to Rainbow Alliance members, silence comes in the form of hiding sexuality from acquaintances, friends and family and stems from not having equal rights.

President of the alliance, KeriAnne Ludwig, said, "It's like living a double life, really."

Ludwig and other members of the Steering Committee for the Rainbow Alliance spoke in an interview Tuesday.

"I didn't opt to tell my parents [about my sexual preference] ... Unfortunately they found out when I was 15, but honestly if they hadn't found out I don't know if I would've ever told them," Ludwig said.

During a break from her silence yesterday, Ludwig said the day was going great.

"Watching people who are silent, seeing their frustration when they want to talk, it's such a parallel of the silence I felt in high school," she said. "They want to speak but can't, and there were times when I wanted to tell my parents so much, but I kept silent."

Another member of Rainbow Alliance who asked to be identified as “Josh,” said he grew up hearing his dad make derogatory comments about gay people.

"I grew up hearing how horrible and evil and terrible homosexuality was. My parents still don't know. I doubt if our relationship would ever be even close to normal again if I told them," Josh said. "And there are a lot of people like me out there."

Adalina Acosta, a member of the Rainbow Alliance, said she tried to run a Day of Silence in high school, but was forced to stop after 71 students received threats of expulsion from the school's administration.

Participants in Wednesday's Day of Silence commented on a more positive experience, save the frustration of not being able to talk.

"I haven't experienced any negative reactions today," junior Meghan Clisham said. "One person even saw what we were doing and came back to the table with a bag of rainbow lollipops."

Members regained their voices again at 5 p.m., and could celebrate at a free party Downtown at Club Level. The party was in conjunction with area high school organizations of Amnesty International.

New Invisible Joy and JG Boccella provided live, free music. There was also free food and raffle items from New Invisible Joy and Rusted Root, as well as other local gay-, lesbian-, bisexual- and transgender-friendly businesses.