Day of Silence

The Day of Silence is an annual day of action organized by GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) to raise awareness about the bullying and harassment of LGBTQ+ students. Participants take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent how anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice silences queer students, then often break it together at an end-of-day event. The first Day of Silence was held in 1996 at the University of Virginia, where about 150 students took part, and it has since grown into one of the largest student-led actions in the country, reaching thousands of schools. It is typically observed in April. In 2024 GLSEN rebranded it as the Day of (No) Silence to emphasize taking action against laws affecting LGBTQ+ rights.