Niles West’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) facilitated the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) Day of (No) Silence on Friday, April 11, to nationally commemorate members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have faced homophobia, transphobia or other bigotry throughout history. District 219’s Night of Noise will follow on Saturday, April 19, to break the silence and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.

Students and staff signed up to take a vow of silence for the school day in the library or student entrances. Those who signed up received rainbow wristbands to signify their participation.

GSA Sponsor and Special Education teacher Haley Aichholzer explained that the purpose of the Day of (No) Silence is to advance advocacy and action for fair treatment of LGBTQIA+ people. By remaining silent during school and taking time to educate themselves about the LGBTQIA+ community, participants engage in an act of solidarity.

“It raises awareness for our queer students and the bullying, harassment and harm they face, while also demonstrating the everlasting hope, resilience and love that exists in our community,” Aichholzer said.

GSA Vice President junior Julia Miller explained what the Day of Silence means to her.

“Our silence, even for just this one day, represents the millions of voices in history that have been muffled or never heard due to homophobia, transphobia and other bigotry. One day of silence isn’t enough to represent every queer person in history who was forced to stay silent and hide their identities, but it is a start,” Miller said.

Physical education teacher and coach Nicole Reynolds was a former participant and GSA sponsor in her early teaching years.

“The message of the Day of Silence is ‘who are you not hearing,’ ‘what are the voices that are not showing up today’ and it is a silent protest. All the inequities including bullying and harassment that the LGBTQIA + community have to deal with day in and day out, year after year, and sometimes things get better, and then sometimes they get worse, but there is always something attacking our rights to live and be authentic humans each and every day,” Reynolds said.

In past years, the GSA referred to the event as “The Day of (no) Silence” to explain that its purpose is more than just staying silent; the mission is to advocate for change needed to combat LGBTQIA+ discrimination.

“The hatred and harm that LGBTQIA+ students face on a daily basis results in harrowing statistics, such as, ‘70% of LGBTQIA+ high school aged students in the US reported experiencing ‘persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness’” (CDC, 2024) and ‘LGBTQIA+ youth attempt suicide at a rate that is 4x higher than the general teenage population’ (Trevor Project, 2023). These statistics are direct impacts of discriminatory practices, policies, and rhetoric,” Aichholzer said.

Student activities director Catilin Lucci hopes the Day of (No) Silence will raise awareness about LGBTQIA+ members who feel silenced or erased.

“Hopefully [the Day of Silence] helps to promote a stronger sense of belonging here at West by showing solidarity, joining forces to stand up against hate. If this is truly our house, it’s important we do everything we can to make sure everyone, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, feel at home here,” Student activities director Caitlin Lucci said.

Teachers who participated were instructed to let their directors know ahead of time. Reynolds participated by wearing her GSA pride shirt and hat to show solidarity.

“It shows our students that we have teachers that support them, and it shows our staff that we have students who need to look up to us and need our support here at school as much as when they are not in school, to make it a safe place for them to just be a student and live authentically. ‘Hate has no home here’ is all over the place, and that includes the LGBTQIA+ community, where students must be free from hate, and that includes bullying or harassment due to identifying with that community,” Reynolds said.