Students stop talking, start walking

Students should not be surprised if they are able to hear a pin drop today. \nThe National Day of Silence at IU will be commemorated on campus today. The event, in which participants take a vow of silence for all or part of the day, is meant to bring attention to how people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual often feel overlooked and silenced because they are different.\nThe event will begin with a march at about 5 p.m., said Barry Magee, assistant director for diversity education of Residential Programs and Services. \nThe National Day of Silence actually takes place Friday, the last day of classes, but IU decided to move up the day in attempt for a better turn out, Magee said. According to the National Day of Silence at IU Web site, the march will have four different starting points, which will eventually meet up in the Arboretum on Fee Lane and 10th Street and conclude in Dunn Meadow.\nStudents can join the march at 5 p.m. at the Showalter Fountain or the Jacobs School of Music Fountain. They can also join later at 5:15 p.m. in the grassy quad located on 10th Street by Teter Quad or in the McNutt Circle Drive, according to the National Day of Silence at IU Web site. \nAfter the march, students will be able to watch the movie “For The Bible Tells Me So” at 7 p.m. in the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union, Magee said. \nThe movie will give a new perspective on how the Bible seems to view people who are gay, Magee said. \n“For The Bible Tells Me So” will highlight ministries and clergy who believe the Bible should not be used to harm or exclude gays or lesbians, Magee said.\nA panel discussion with representatives from Hillel, Lutheran Campus Ministry and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church will follow the movie, said senior Nick Mitchaner, committee member of the National Day of Silence at IU. \nAlthough the march and the movie are two of the main events on campus, Doug Bauder, coordinator of the GLBT Student Support Services office, said people can also participate in the day in other ways. \nThe GLBT office has been handing out lanyards and T-shirts that explain the day, Bauder said. People can also wear the lanyards and shirts so people can know why they are not talking. \n“I hope that the students, if they participate in the silence, understand how it feels like to be overlooked,” Magee said. \nAlthough the day is specifically aimed at GLBT rights, Magee said this day can also help honor other groups who are silenced. \n“(It’s) kind of being there in the room but never talking about it,” Magee said. \nMitchaner said people do not have to participate in all the events, but if they at least try to talk about “what inequality means to them,” then the day, in his eyes, will be a success.