The 14th annual national Day of Silence, a student-organized event intended to draw attention to the silence, bullying and harassment endured by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, will take place this Friday.
Participating students will take a vow of silence for the day to remember the mistreatment of LGBT community members.
Tufts' Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), which is sponsoring the Day of Silence on campus, has this year decided to take an unusual approach to the annual event.
While the Day of Silence, sponsored nationally by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is generally geared toward raising awareness about the silence experienced by students who are not out, the QSA wants to focus on those members of the LGBT community who are out, but still feel silenced.
"Our goal with the Day of Silence at Tufts this year is to make people think about the silence you have to endure even after you come out," QSA co-president Allister Chang, a sophomore, said.
Chang explained that while Tufts is largely an accepting environment, many LGBT community members continue to feel uncomfortable in certain situations.
"We feel that Tufts is a comfortable environment where students often feel like they can come out, but after you do come out, you do still sometimes have to live in silence," Chang said. "There is silence imposed even by a comfortable environment."
QSA co-president sophomore Kathryn Salwen explained that some students would be this year using the day as a day of noise rather than a day of silence to more effectively achieve its goals.
"This year, we are trying to take different approach because on the Tufts campus, while people are generally tolerant … they are often indifferent toward queer issues," Salwen said. "In a community where we have achieved tolerance, the next step is to make people more knowledgeable."
She added that QSA members on Friday will be sitting on the President's Lawn under a large rainbow flag, hoping to talk to students passing by about the experience of being a member of the LGBT community.
"Our goal is to make people think," Chang said. "We are hoping to help people learn more about the societal limitations placed on members of the [LGBT] community."
The QSA on Thursday night will also be painting the cannon and on Friday itself will distribute fliers describing stories and situations in which LGBT community members have felt silenced or uncomfortable.
