By Hope Ferris, ’18

Friday April 27th, Cary Academy participated in the Day of Silence, a day sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to raise awareness about discrimination against LGBT students. At Cary Academy, students in the upper school had the option to remain silent for the entirety of the day, paralleling how members of the LGBT community have been silenced, and ribbons were distributed for students who wished to show their support.  

Cary Academy has participated in the Day of Silence for over a decade, but this year, students took action to make the event more visible than it has been in the past. Members of Cary Academy’s Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) held an information session of the history and significance of the day during community time on April 19th, in a span of just a few days, the group hand printed more than 90 t-shirts with facts about anti-LGBT discrimination in schools. We talked to the senior members of GSA to hear their motivations and perspectives on CA’s Day of Silence.  

Kristen Draper, ’18, felt that at CA, the Day of Silence has been treated as optional, as “seniors even didn’t know much about the Day of Silence, and only people who understood what the event meant chose to stay silent, while those who had never heard about the Day of Silence before didn’t learn anything”.

Additionally, members of the affinity group felt pressure to keep publicity for the event to a minimum and felt middle schoolers were given less of a chance to participate in the event. 8th graders were allowed to carry a non-speaking card and remain silent for the day, while all middle schoolers were allowed to be silent during lunch. “I was one of the first people in our grade to come out, and I came out when we were still in the middle school, when we never talked about sexuality,” Draper says. Talking on the LGBT experience at Cary Academy, Draper says that her experience is not unique, and the day is important for everyone, whether they are out or in the closet or still on their identity journey. “Bigotry still happens here at CA,” comments Draper.  

For one student who wishes to remain anonymous, the Day of Silence at CA is about bringing attention to a group on campus who don’t always have the spotlight. “I’ve experienced silence in my own life with my parents – I was afraid to tell my parents about my girlfriend, afraid to speak up in the classroom. For me, the Day of Silence is about reflecting on that time in my life and moving forward – I’m now free to be as loud and proud as I want to be.” The Day of Silence is not just about the silence – it’s about the conversation that happens before and after. Many thanks to the leaders, members, and allies of the Gender Sexuality Alliance, for speaking their truths and taking action.  

The seniors behind the creations of the t-shirts (left to right): Mohala Kaliebe, Charlie East, Madisen Placzkowski, Kristin Draper, and Emma Zayas, all ‘18

Upper school students in their t-shirts