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4- The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 13, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Iroquois students and teachers hope the silence will be deafening By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Bring Indoor Comfort, Outdoors This Spring! Visit our showroom to see this model and all our 35 models burning on display. · In House Cabinetry · Licensed Gas Fitters 3585 Laird Rd., Unit 2 Mississauga Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10-5, Sat. 10-4 www.ontariohearth.com 905.569.2404 ...Redefine Your Living Space We design and build Bathrooms . Kitchens . Basements FAMILY OWNED & RATED OPE More than 20 years of experience 198 Speers Road, Oakville 905-845-9675 There's a constant buzz of conversation when you walk in the front doors of Iroquois Ridge High School. Students are talking everywhere ­ groups of them chatting in the foyer, walking and talking on their way to class. That buzz won't be there on April 18, at least not if the school's Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) has anything to do with it. Next Wednesday is a Day of Silence. It's an international student-led day of action ­ a vow of silence ­ to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. "I think it's an incredible human rights issue, and it's something we need to stand up to," said Grade 12 student Zach Newburgh, one of several members of the GSA, which is appealing to students to sign up for the Day of Silence. "We're here to say that gay is OK," Newburgh added, smiling. "In a lot of cases, in a lot of places around the world, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, that's not OK. We're here to fight for that equality." But with silence? The student and teacher GSA has been discussing how people may hear important messages, but they don't understand. The vow of silence is a way to make others notice by saying nothing at all, says teacher Chris Breakspear, a member of the GSA. He's one of a number of teachers who are getting in on the silence next Wednesday ­ and they have some solid ideas of how to teach without speaking. "A lot of us use power point, so there will probably just be a lot of pointing," said Breakspear, who teaches French. Math teacher Michael Gallant says the Lord of the Rings movies will take over his lesson plans, while English department head Susan Glas plans to have a senior student around to tell students to keep quiet during her class, since she won't be able to do that herself. She's also going to make cards to use as teaching tools. "That will just basically let them see the awkwardness," she said. "It will make a statement." The Day of Silence is an international project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in collaboration with the United States Student Association (USSA). After starting in 1996 with just 150 students at the University of Virginia, the Day of Silence has since grown to include more than 450,000 students at over 4,000 schools, colleges and universities. It's big in the United States, but Breakspear says as far as he knows, Iroquois is the lone Canadian high school championing the cause. "We're the only one I know of doing it up here," he said. "Hopefully we'll just be getting it off the ground and it will move others to participate." Breakspear says it's an important movement at Iroquois, a school with a population of gay and lesbian students who don't feel comfortable talking about their sexuality. "We know there are some gay students here at the school, but we don't have any gay students that are out ­ it's kind of silenced them, in a sense, they don't feel they can speak out," he said. "So with the Day of Silence, other students are being silent with them." That silence is brought to life in an image Breakspear posted on the walls of the school. It's of two young boys who were hanged in Iran because they were gay and caught together. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER BREAKING THE SILENCE: Stephen Sock is one of nearly 300 students and teachers participating in the upcoming Day of Silence at Iroquois Ridge High School. So far, the picture has made an impact. "It's interesting in a time where their favourite movie is Saw III, an image like this has really shocked a lot of students," said Glas. "That image really captures what we're talking about here ­ the freedom to be yourself, the freedom to exist." The powerful image hangs near a booth in the front foyer set up to sign students up for the Day of Silence. "A lot of people were completely floored by the photo," said Grade 11 student Stephen Soock, a GSA member and one of several students manning the sign-up booth. The response so far from students supporting the Day of Silence has been encouraging, say members of the GSA. "It's been hugely popular," said Newburgh. "We were totally surprised on the first day, everyone was just rushing our booth." In fact, after that first day, 10 per cent of the school's 1,200 student population had signed up to participate in the Day of Silence. After sign-up, participants receive a card to carry around on April 18. It reads: "Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. "My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today." Soock says the event is popular with students ­ nearly 300 have signed up to date ­ because it's an easy way to contribute to a cause. "Generally people are willing to say they agree with it, but they aren't willing to do something, maybe because they're lazy," he said. "This is something you can participate in, and it doesn't take a lot of effort." But will it be tough to keep quiet for an entire day? "I've had a hard enough time keeping my mouth shut for the last 10 minutes," said Gallant, smiling. "Hopefully if a student gets called on in class, or their buddy speaks to them," Soock says, "they'll be able to flash the card and let them know they're being silent for a reason."