By Aditi Patil
Staff Writer

During lunch today, many students visited the Gay-Straight Alliance table for last minute sign ups for  either participation or to pledge their support for the Day of Silence.

During the Day of Silence, students take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-sexual comments, bullying and harassment. It is meant to show that Westford Academy’s community is welcoming and supportive of  LGBTQ people.

“People learn how hard it is not to be yourself. Its a learning experience because gay people aren’t free to say what they want for their entire lives sometimes. For the students participating its just one day,” said Susan Beers, advisor of GSA, in support of remaining silent.

Though the nationwide Day of Silence is on Friday, April 15, WA students have decided to hold theirs tomorrow because of scheduling conflicts.

At the sign up table, you write your name and on the column next to it, you indicate whether you are going to be a participant or a supporter. Most people feel that they will not be able to resist talking to their friends all day, so they don’t sign up. But it is important to know that while you may not be able to participate, you can sign up to be a supporter. Supporters can talk, but they are also showing positive feelings about the cause.

In the third column, students write the actions that the will take for this cause. Participants have written things such as speaking up against harmful terms and LGBTQ related swears.

After signing up, students can write their names on a cloud that will later be cut out and posted on a bulletin board. There are also rainbow ribbons students pin onto their shirts during the day.

So far, there are around 163 people participating and 12 official supporters. But more people often join the day of, and not all the people wrote their name on the piece of paper who support the Day of Silence. This amount is more than 2010, but a lot less compared to 2009 and 2008.

“I think this was in response to the threat to stop the Day of Silence. The opposition made the students more eager to take a stand,” said Beers.

The students at the stand remarked that a lot more girls had signed up than boys, and the grade with the most sign-ups was the freshman class. Beers speculates this might be because girls are more socially aware and that many of the upperclassmen have done it in the past all ready.

Unfortunately, some people don’t participate in the Day of Silence because they believe in the cause, but because they see it as an opportunity to avoid participating in class.

“Most people think it’s slacking off when its for a serious cause,” said Kaylee Champa, a member of GSA.

If your silence is interfering with your school work, you are required to break it. For example, if you have a speaking exam in a Foreign Language class, you may not use the Day of Silence as an excuse to skip it. However, most teachers at WA are respectful of students’ decision to take the Vow of Silence.

After school, there is a Breaking Silence party, in which students can celebrate their accomplishment of remaining silent throughout the day. The day after that, Thursday April 14, is the Day of Action.