The Malibu chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance gears up for the National Day of Silence.
By Troy Dove/Special to The Malibu Times
In an effort to promote awareness and acceptance for the gay community, the Malibu High School Gay Straight Alliance is currently enlisting volunteers to participate in the National Day of Silence on April 13.
For the duration of the school day, participating students will remain silent, symbolizing the silence in which many in the gay community feel they must live, in order to be socially accepted.
“Basically, the kids, from the start of the school day to the end of the school day don’t speak,” said Sarah Bell, an English teacher at Malibu High School and advisor for the GSA, Malibu High chapter.
“The students will have a card from me that shows they are participating in this event,” Bell said. It will also explain why they are participating.
The National Day of Silence, founded at the University of Virginia in 1996, has become the largest, single student-led action toward creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression in the nation, according to the organization’s Web site.
The original Day of Silence in 1996 had only 150 student participants. Due to the organization’s efforts and support from students throughout the nation, in 2002 there were nearly 2,000 schools that participated in the event. As of March 31, more than 3,000 schools in all 50 states have registered for this year’s event. Registrants also include Puerto Rico.
Bell is hoping that the National Day of Silence will also provide an opportunity for students to learn more about the GSA at Malibu High.
“I’m going to tell my students in my classes about it and try to get them to participate,” Bell said. “When they do, hopefully they’ll start coming to the [GSA] meetings or join it next year.”
This is the first year for the GSA at Malibu High and while it has received support from both the school administration and the school faculty, student membership is low.
“It’s open to all high school students,” Bell said, “but so far, the club is small. We have only about seven or eight kids in it.”
The club began through the efforts of its founding member, Elise Laetz, currently a senior at Malibu High.
Laetz said she started the club due to the harassment and discrimination she experienced last summer while spending time with a gay friend.
“We got harassed a number of times by different people,” Laetz said. “It kind of opened my eyes to how unjust it all is. I realized that our community is just not safe for people to be out, it’s not a place where people can be comfortable like that.
“Another friend of mine had to drop out of high school to do a home study program because of harassment about his sexual orientation,” Laetz added. “By starting the club I was hoping to make the community a more safe place.”
Gay people “are one of the number one targets for hate crimes,” Bell said.
The goal of the club is to “promote acceptance for all types of people, including gay people, and to treat gay people the same way as you treat anybody else.”
Overall, the students have been very responsive to the club, she said, and there has been no negative feedback from the students or from the community.
While the club is open to all high school students, Bell said she was concerned the students might not join, thinking that the club is just for gay students.
“I don’t even know if there is a single gay kid in my club,” the teacher said. “The kids have to realize that’s not what it’s about. It’s about tolerance and making a safe environment for people who are gay.”
Even though she is unaware of any students who have openly admitted to being gay, Bell said, “It is obviously impossible that there are no gay people at Malibu High School.”
“The kids aren’t made fun of at our school for being gay because the kids are so scared that they don’t even let anyone know they might possibly be gay,” Bell said. “It’s almost an issue that is just not talked about, which I think is a problem. Gay boys are one of the highest risk groups among teenagers for suicide.”
Participation in the National Day of Silence is one of the Malibu GSA’s first large events.
“We want to start spreading awareness,” Laetz said. “Most people don’t know a lot things regarding this area [the gay community].”
The Malibu GSA is also planning an event for Gay Pride Week, June 1-6, Laetz said, as well as an event in May in remembrance of Matthew Shepard. “We’re just getting the ball rolling.”
More information about the Malibu chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance, or for information on participating in the National Day of Silence at Malibu High School, can be found by contacting Sarah Bell or Elise Laetz at Malibu High School.
Further information about the National Day of Silence can be obtained through the organization’s Web site at www.dayofsilence.org. More information about the Gay Straight Alliance is available at www.gaystraightalliance.org