By Bobby Hankinson
The Northeastern University Bisexual, Lesbian, Straight and Transgendered Alliance (NUBi-LAGA) proved silence is golden as their message shined through the rain last Wednesday during their first Day of Silence event.
In an effort to end discrimination against minorities, members of NUBiLAGA stood in the rain reading the names and stories of victims of hate crimes through a mega phone in the Snell Library Quad on Wednesday, March 31.
Organizers attempted to sign up participants to remain silent for an entire day to protest “the silence faced by minority groups because of discrimination, prejudice and harassment,” according to the flyers distributed throughout the quad.
“We are trying to use silence to symbolize the silence that occurs when hate crimes occur,” said Ashley Smith, the Student Government Association (SGA) representative for NUBiLAGA.
The event was co-sponsored by SGA, the Resident Student Association (RSA), The Northeastern News, the Center for Counseling and Student Development, Northeastern University Allied Student Coalition (NUASC) and the Progressive Student Alliance (PSA).
“We feel very strongly about this issue,” said PSA President Scott Breiding. “We’re going to promote this day at this university and at others. It’s a good precedent for this event.”
By the end of sign-ups, there were about 250 names registered to participate in the Day of Silence to take place Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. culminating with an event titled Breaking the Silence to take place in the West Addition of the Curry Student Center.
Students said they began to realize the impact of the event during Breaking the Silence, when they were able to speak again.
“I saw a lot of people wearing T-shirts, which made my silence easier,” said Jessica Maxfield, NUBiLAGA’s public relations director. “As far as success, you might not see it because it’s more of an impact people have on a personal level.”
Some students said they were surprised at how difficult it was to remain silent for that long.
“I’m still processing how much I rely on my words,” said Jared Schwartzer, a sophomore psychology major.
Breaking the Silence featured performances from Northeast-ern musicians, including Adam Tabas and Pete Matthieson, The Bowlcuts, Project 1.7, Mike Matthieu, Dave Coffin and Michael Brennan.
Tabas, a freshman music industry major, said he was responsible for setting up the musical performances of the evening after being approached at one his shows at after-HOURS.
“They told me what it was and I was happy to help out,” Tabas said. “They asked me to find other bands and it turned into an event.”
After a successful event spanning two days and involving about 250 participants, NUBiLAGA’s silence will continue to be heard throughout campus as they set a standard for similar events in years to come.
“There was lots of interest considering the rain,” Maxfield said. “It was pretty successful for our first year trying it out, but next year we’re going to make it bigger because lots of professors want to participate.”
