Day of Silence

In the United States of America, the Day of Silence is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) annual day of action to spread awareness about the effects of the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students and their supporters.

The Day of Silence has been held each year in April since 1996. In 2015, the Day of Silence was 17 April. The 2014 Day of Silence was April 11; the 2013 Day of Silence was April 19; the 2012 Day of Silence was April 20; and in 2011 it was on April 15. The next Day of Silence will be held on April 15, 2016.

Organization

The Day of Silence is organized by the GLSEN. Students are encouraged to obtain permission from their school before organizing the event.

GLSEN states that hundreds of thousands of students at more than 8,000 schools participated in the 2008 Day of Silence.

History

Created by then-student Maria Pulzetti, the first event was organized by students at the University of Virginia in 1996. Pulzetti explained: "I wanted to do something for BGLAD week that would impact many people at the school and that would be very visible...I knew that if we held panel discussions and events like that, the only people who would come would be the people who already were fairly aware."