A message from the
GLSEN Student Organizing Department.
Day of Silence: Suspended? Was it Legal? Congratulations on a successful Day of Silence!
Although we have heard many Day of Silence success stories, we know that some students faced problems during the day. Did you receive unfair treatment? To help you find out, Lambda Legal, our legal partner, has some questions for you:
DURING THE DAY OF SILENCE…•
Did someone threaten or punish you for participating in the Day of Silence?Sometimes students are threatened with suspension or are suspended for handing out Day of Silence speaking cards and/or promoting the day of action.
•
Did you/your club get treated differently from other students/clubs who engage in school activities?Are other clubs allowed to post on billboards or make announcements about their activities, but you were not able to do so?
•
Were your rights to express yourself restricted? For example, did the school make you take off your Day of Silence t-shirt?All students have a right to express their thoughts (as long as they are not obscene or deeply offensive), and you have the rights to express yours too, even if some people disagree or don’t like them.
If you answered “
yes” to any of the questions above, contact
Lambda Legal. Write to
schoolhelp@lambdalegal.org or call
212-809-8585 and ask for the
Day of Silence Help Desk. If you can't make long distance calls, or if you have legal questions about LGBT issues that are not related to the Day of Silence, call Lambda Legal's regular help desk at
(866) 542-8336
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