Students vow silence
to end discrimination
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer
FARRAH MAFFAI Melissa Ann Intiso reads from a pin she planned to wear for Day of Silence 2003 during a Coffee House Night held by a group of Sayreville War Memorial High School students upstairs at the Sayreville Bar recently.
SAYREVILLE — More than 50 local students vowed to keep silent for the full school day April 9 as part of a national event to raise awareness about discrimination.
The Day of Silence Project, founded by students at the University of Virginia in 1996, is an annual event that brings middle and high school students together to stand up for the rights of homosexuals and transgenders in particular.
"The Day of Silence Project has become the largest student-led action toward creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression," according to www.dayofsilence.org, a Web site that helps students organize their efforts for the day.
The site, which is maintained by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and the U.S. Student Association, states that students from more than 1,900 middle and high schools participated in the event last year.
It was on this day last year that Sayreville War Memorial High School student Melissa Intiso heard of the event and decided to get permission from her principal, James Brown, to encourage students to participate this year.
"I did it because it’s something I really believe in. I don’t think it should matter whether you’re black, white, gay. We’re all just people," said Intiso, who is now a senior.
On April 8, during a night of poetry readings hosted by the staff of the high school’s literary magazine, Images, Intiso read a message to her peers asking for their vow of silence the next day:
"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. People who are silent today believe that laws and attitudes should be inclusive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. The day of silence is to draw attention to those who have been silenced by hatred, oppression and prejudice. Think about the voices you are not hearing. What else can you do to end the silence?"
The message was printed on a pin that Intiso wore on the Day of Silence.
Another Images staff member, Helen Vassallo, said the staff sponsored the Day of Silence for their school last week. Students displayed posters and spoke to their peers to let them know about the event, she said.