Students participating in the Christian-based ‘Day of Truth’
wear special shirts and pass out cards
Gilroy – Last April some Gilroy High School students and teachers zipped their lips.
The 16 students and four teachers were participating in the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s Day of Silence, a speechless protest intended to symbolize the oppression or “silencing” of gays.
The educator’s participation drew a bevy of criticism from the community. Board meetings were filled with angry locals. For months, the Dispatch’s editorial pages were packed with letters. And the recent news that those teachers are planning to participate again has ignited the flame once again. But despite all the indignation, the anti-Day of Silence crowd didn’t stage a counter protest.
That may change this year.
Gilroy resident and political activist Mark Zappa, who also was an outspoken opponent of the Day of Silence, said students might be participating in a different kind of protest tagged the Day of Truth.
That the Day of Truth falls on April 27, the day after the Day of Silence, is no coincidence. The Christian-based demonstration was established a year ago by the Alliance Defense Fund, in response to the gay rights protest.
Participating students are encouraged to sport T-shirts that say “Day of Truth” on the front and “The truth cannot be silenced,” on the back and to pass out cards that say:
“I am speaking the truth, to break the silence
Silence isn’t freedom. It’s a constraint.
Truth tolerates open discussion, because the truth emerges when healthy discourse is allowed.
By proclaiming the truth in love, hurts will be halted, hearts will be healed, and lives will be saved.”
The Web site instructs students not to pass out cards during class, to spread the message at school during their free time. That’s one of the negatives associated with Day of Silence, said Mike Johnson, ADF senior legal counsel.
“By definition,” the Day of Silence is distracting and disrupts instructional time, he said. Also, in keeping with that theme, the ADF only asks students to participate in Day of Truth.
“We do not advise any teachers to participate,” said. “They need to be educating students not advocating lifestyles.”
Day of Truth did emerge from Day of Silence, but not from the protest itself. It was school officials’ responses to counter protests, often displayed by Christians, a trend ADF became aware of as calls continued to pour in.
One that gained national notoriety is the case of Chase Harper. The Poway High School student wore a T-shirt during the San Diego school’s Day of Silence observance that read “Homosexuality is Shameful.”
Harper was suspended for refusing to remove the shirt. The high school student is suing the Poway Unified School District, with the legal aide of ADF.
“When Christian kids and those with traditional viewpoints were expressing their views they were being silenced all over the country,” Johnson said. “We hear a lot about tolerance these days, but what we’re seeing more and more is an outright hostility toward people of particular faiths, mostly Christianity.”
More than 1,100 students and 350 schools nationwide participated in the Day of Truth last year. Because of the buzz that surrounded the event last year, Johnson expects participation to grow substantially next month.
The group tracks participants through registration, T-shirt purchases and the Internet. “Most of the events went off without a hitch,” a testimony to the organization’s commitment to peaceful, non-intrusive protest, Johnson said.
But it appears the Day of Silence will once again receive a sour reception in Gilroy. Ben Whittaker, a 20-year-old Gavilan College student, said he doesn’t think teachers should be spending their work hours standing up for any particular point-of-view.
“I think it’s kind of ridiculous to allow someone not to do their job,” he said. “They don’t have a right to not do their job.”
Whittaker said the controversial demonstration has no meat, because the alleged anti-gay sentiment appear to be non-existent. The Gilroy resident, who was home schooled, said his brother, who attends GHS, has never witnessed any harassment.
Whittaker’s dad is planning on keeping his younger son home if teachers participate in the silent protest.
“I would think that it’s a poor move for gay rights supporters because it seems to alienate a lot of people,” Whittaker said. “It’s doing more harm than good.”
But David McRae doesn’t agree.
The Gilroy Unified School District board member thinks the controversy that arose last year has brought many underground issues to the surface.
“Were we really harmed or did it open up a lot of dialogue that led to a lot of change?” he said. “I’m not sold that it’s a crisis. I think socially it’s more of an issue than instructionally.”
McRae said teachers can still provide an effective lesson without using words and that it will be difficult, nearly impossible, to write a policy demanding teachers talk during class.
The board member also thinks the real issue is intolerance of heterosexuals, not education.
“I don’t see a lot of gays and lesbians walking around (in Gilroy),” he said. “I don’t see a lot of discussion about it.”
The GUSD board has yet to pass a policy on the matter or discuss the issue in meetings this year. At last week’s meeting board President Pat Midtgaard requested that the item be placed on the agenda for the March 16 meeting.
The board still has time to approve a policy for or against the Day of Silence.
The Day of Truth
– The Day of Truth was established in 2005 to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and to convey a Christian point-of-view on the issue. It takes place on April 27, the day after the Day of Silence, wherein students and teachers refrain from speaking to show their solidarity with homosexuals and to symbolize the oppression or the “silencing” shadow the individuals live under.
– Last year more than 1,100 students and 350 schools nationwide participated the Day of Truth.
