The National Day of Silence will be held this year on Wednesday, April 21, and at Ohio State, the day will conclude with students presenting stories, poems, essays, and other work about being LGBT, in what is being called the "Night of Noise."  The event will feature a reading by Kevin Kumashiro, the director of the Center for Anti-Oppressive Education in El Cerrito, California, and the editor of Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian-Pacific-American Activists.

The Day of Silence began in 1996 at the University of Virginia to call attention to the school-based discrimination and harassment experienced by LGBT youth, which serves to silence their voices.  LGBT students and their allies take a vow of silence for the day, while handing out information to others to explain their action.  In 2003, more than 2,000 middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities across the country participated, making it the largest student-led LGBT event ever held in the United States. At Ohio State, more than 50 students took part in the event last year, and more are expected to do so this year.  "Students from a wide array of backgrounds and campus organizations will be passing out stickers and flyers and taking part in the Day of Silence," states Zachariah Baird, the coordinator of OSU's Day of Silence Planning Committee.

The Night of Noise, which will serve to break the silence, will take place at 6 p.m. in Buckeye Suites FG of the Ohio Union (1739 North High Street).

For more information:
Zachariah Baird, DOS Planning Committee, zab33@yahoo.com, 614-216-3180
Brett Beemyn, GLBT Student Services, beemyn.1@osu.edu, 614-292-6200