LGBT group says volumes in National Day of Silence

AHEM: Rusty Rigby breaks his silence, speaking at the Sunburst Lounge. / Photo by Jen Beasley

By Jen Beasley

April 19, 2007 | LOGAN -- When Braden Baugh broke his silence to come out of the closet, there was no fanfare, parade, or big announcement. He simply began to tell the truth. If people asked him if he was gay, he said yes.

But Wednesday, if asked a question, Baugh said nothing at all. Participating in the National Day of Silence, Baugh and about 150 others swore not to speak a word from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in an event designed to symbolize the voicelessness of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered community.

Though it is seemingly counterintuitive to spread a message by not speaking, Baugh said the tactic worked. Stationed at a table on the TSC patio, participants in the vow of silence scribbled notes and passed out cards to promote and explain and what they were doing to passersby.

"We had a lot of people that came up and talked to us and got shirts," Baugh said. "It was hard. I like to talk, and people would come up and ask us questions and I'd have to write it all down, but that was just a good point to make, that gay people don't have a voice."

Matthew Hollen, a participant in the Day of Silence, said the silent protest was very symbolic.

"You're being silent, but you're yelling a message," Hollen said. "We’re talking about stopping the silence that we're facing with not being able to come out of the closet, me not being able to talk about my boyfriend of almost two years at work, looking over your shoulder when you walk across campus."

The Day of Silence originally began in 1996 at the University of Virginia, and is now an annual event sponsored in combination by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network and the United States Student Association. The original mission statement was to take the day-long vow of silence to "recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment--in effect, the silencing--experienced by LGBT students and their allies."

Baugh helped organize the event locally through the campus group LIFE (Love is for Everyone), which seeks to unite the GLBT community as well as their straight friends in support and activism.

The silent protest ended at 3 p.m., when participants broke the silence by speaking about their experiences from a microphone in the Sunburst Lounge.

"I'll be the first to admit that being silent for a day is very hard," said Rusty Rigby upon breaking his silence. "But it's better than being silent for 18 years."

"Everyone has the power to put their fears aside, and speak up," Rigby said.

Baugh said the event garnered a mostly positive response, generating a lot of questions from people, and even a few $20 donations from supporters of the cause. He said the Day of Silence doubled its participation from last year. "It was just nice to see that there are other people that really do care," Baugh said.

However, Baugh said some people were clearly uncomfortable with the message, avoiding eye contact or crumpling the explanatory cards as they were passed out.

Jonathon Tonioli said a few people even told him they could not support the cause.

"That was sad to me, because we're asking people not to harass and discriminate against other people, and they're saying they can't support our cause," Tonioli said.

Hollen emphasized that the event was not promoting gay marriage, only tolerance and awareness.

"You might not agree with what we are doing, just allow us to be humans and Americans and who we are," Hollen said. Ben Johnson, a straight student, said the injustice that is perpetrated against the GLBT community, combined with the people he meets, is what leads him to actively participate in LIFE. He said the success of the Day of Silence event was an indication that progress is being made.

"I think it was a big leap, big step forward for the GLBT community. And I'm proud of everyone that helped," Johnson said.

Baugh said the event was "amazing," and ultimately breaking his own silence has made him more comfortable and confident with himself. He said he was not afraid to come out once he got to know some gay people, and realized that "it's nothing (he) should be scared about or worried about."

"People also make being gay a bigger deal than it really is," Baugh said.

LIFE will be holding its end-of-year social next Tuesday, April 24. Anyone interested should contact the group via email at usulifegsa@yahoo.com.

SILENT & SMILING: Members of Love Is For Everyone promote their message at a table on the TSC patio. / Photo by Jen Beasley

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