By Kayla Chavier
Staff Writer

No words can describe the immense significance of the upcoming Day of Silence, an event hosted by Westford Academy’s Gay-Straight Alliance in April.  Every year, GSA works to educate other students about the silence that many students struggling with their sexual orientation have to endure.

For this event, the GSA asks the student population to either sign-up as a supporter, who chooses to speak, or a participant, who will take an oath to not speak for the entire school day and carry a pink sheet showing participation.  This year, on April 17th, all of those involved can write their names on a piece of paper to be displayed on a wall reserved in the cafeteria.

“The day of silence is not just a day where someone can just say, I’m not going to talk to anyone. [It’s about paying] our respect to kids everywhere who are silenced by their society, feeling that they can’t talk about who they are or want to be because of certain societal expectations,” said senior Brandon Jurewicz, a president of GSA.

The Day of Silence acknowledges the difficult silence that people of all ages in the LGBT community are forced to endure in restricting societies. Jurewicz and the GSA hope to make all students at WA feel comfortable in their school environment and free to express their individual personalities.

“If it helps one student, that’s the best, because that’s all we need. If one student sees that 25 people have gotten up and signed their names on that wall, that student now knows that they can feel comfortable with at least 25 students. [This would prove that] we’ve really accomplished what we’ve wanted to do,” said Jurewicz.

GSA, led by presidents Jurewicz and senior Kirsty Adams, stresses the significance of this event and what it represents for the LGBT community.

“This is not something for students to just get out of school and not have to talk and participate in class, and if they’re doing it for that reason I don’t want them to. It’s really about respect for those who can’t speak,” said Jurewicz.

In addition to advocating the Day of Silence, the GSA is now selling t-shirts and accepting donations. All money raised will go towards LGBT causes in the area.  One organization is the Waltham House, a homeless shelter for LGBT youth.  Donated money will be used to buy hygiene products for this organization.

GSA plans to collect sizes and money for t-shirts during an advisory day and to have an idea of the number of participants by March in preparation for April.  Students can expect to hear from GSA in freshmen health classes and also on the morning announcements.

“Through silence we can find something so beautiful. What we hear in silence is more than we can ever hear in a thousand voices,” said Jurewicz.