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Schools

At Montville High School, the Day of Silence Will Be A Day of Support

Students Will Maintain Silence to Draw Attention to the Bullying of Gay and Lesbian People

Gays, lesbians and their friends at Montville High School will participate on Friday in a national  “Day of Silence” as a symbolic protest to homophobic bigotry that exists in schools and throughout society.

Catherine Macri, advisor to the school’s Gay Straight Alliance, said the students will remain quiet, including inside classrooms, as a way to recognize the fact that many gays and lesbians are afraid to speak out about their sexual preference. She said students will protest  “the discrimination and prejudice that lesbians, gays and their allies often confront in society.”

Montville students have conducted negotiations with individual teachers, expressing their desire not to speak during class that day. Most teachers have cooperated, according to four students interviewed this week.

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Jessie Colella, a junior, said he was among the thousands of high school students nationally who was afraid to let the world know that he is gay. He said he knew by the seventh grade that he is homosexual but he kept it a secret for more than four years.

“Before I came out, I was afraid of what would happen at home with my parents,” he said. “I thought they might kick me out. But when I told them, they let me know they still love me.”

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Jessica Wilcox, a junior who said she is a lesbian, added that she and Colella are among the fortunate ones.

“I used to sneak around,” she said. “Most parents aren’t like my parents. They accepted it.”

She said she didn't determine her sexual orientation until her freshman year. She kept it a secret before telling her parents during her sophomore year.

There are about 20 members of the Gay Straight Alliance at the high school, the students said, adding that seven of them are “straight allies.”

Among the allies are Zach Meisner and Mikayla Briggs, who will be wearing a ribbons and pins on Friday, demonstrating support for their friends.

Meisner said though he is heterosexual he has friends who are gay. He will participate in the day of silence. “It’s a way of showing other people that if you’re straight you can still be supportive,” he said.

Briggs said she has known gays who have been afraid to come out, thereby not letting the world know who they really are.  “There’s depression with those who feel they have to hide,” she said.

The students acknowledged there is prejudice at the high school, as there is in every layer of society. Still, the four students interviewed said that most other students are understanding and accepting. One said the most unaccepting students are the “jocks.”

Students participated in the national observation last year but not at the school – it occurred during spring vacation.

Macri, the advisor who is a guidance counselor at the high school, said there is harassment and bullying of homosexuals in schools throughout the nation. Many are rejected by parents and one-time friends. This, she said, is why so many gays and lesbians choose to lead secret lives, afraid to speak.

"So this is what the protesting students hope others will hear," she said, "their sounds of silence."

To read more about the national Day of Silence, click here.

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