On Wednesday, a group of students at Wenatchee High School made a very loud statement. By not saying a word.

Diversity Club held a Day of Silence at WHS on April 16. The Day of Silence is a national program born in 1996 to bring awareness to “the suffering of the members of the LGBT community who were actually silenced due to bullying. Day of Silence was formed to create solidarity with those groups,” Dani Schafer-Cloke, an English teacher at WHS and Diversity Club adviser, said. “[The silence] is noticeable. People see what’s going on. It’s not mean-spirited or disruptive, but it makes a point.” This year is the ninth year WHS has participated in the event.

Many students were inspired to help organize and participate in the event, purchasing t-shirts and speaking out against bullying in silence with a powerful conclusion: breaking the silence by shouting their message in the WHS courtyard during lunch. One of the student participants was senior Grayson Hagopian.

“When I was a freshman, I had a friend who was a senior at the time. He came out as gay to the entire school, and that inspired me to act. What he did was really courageous and difficult, and I wanted to help other people be comfortable with themselves,” Hagopian said. “Day of Silence isn’t an issue of politics. This is an issue of Civil Rights.”

Another key contributor to the program was Diversity Club president, senior Francesa Nevil. “To me, bullying is not acceptable in any circumstance, regardless of sexual orientation or social status. I have a friend with special needs, and I’ve seen him oppressed by other people and society, and that’s very hard for me,” Nevil said. “While I can’t personally relate to the message behind the Day of Silence, I fully support the idea behind it.”

Thirty-five states in the U.S. have legalized gay marriage since 2004, where Massachusetts became the first state to recognize the legal right of same-sex couples to marry, with support of gay marriage doubled from 1996 to 2014, according to DoSomething.org. Washington legalized gay marriage on January 26th, 2012, becoming the seventh state to do so.

“The level of homophobic slurs have been greatly reduced, and I think that mirrors a nationwide trend,” Schafer-Cloke said on the impact of the event at WHS “We need to respect each other as human beings regardless of your sexual orientation, and I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Along with the student support, the event also received great support from businesses in the community. Donors include Logan Aimone, Ganz Klasse, Ashley Walker, Schafer-Cloke, Chris Cloke, Noyd and Noyd Insurance, Dunkin Hagopian, PLC, Brooke Lecron, Dutch Bros., and Aut-To Mocha. Donors contributed $50 to $200 to the cause, allowing for the program to sell t-shirts for the cause for only $2.

The official National Day of Silence is today. WHS adjusted its date to work around the assembly.  Students and members of the community alike are encouraged to participate and bring attention to this uplifting cause.