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Day of Silence: A Chance for Open Dialogue with LGBT Students?

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The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network is holding its annual Day of Silence in schools across the country this Friday, April 15. 

The event's website calls the Day of Silence "a student-led national event that brings attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools."

"Students from middle school to college take a vow of silence in an effort to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior by illustrating the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT," the website said.

GLSEN says thousands of students take part and have the backing of educators, Gay-Straight Alliances and GLSEN chapters.

"This year, through the theme "Silence is Ours," the focus will be on reclaiming this silence, shifting it from something forced upon LGBT students to a strategic tool they use to advocate for safe and affirming schools," a GLSEN news release reported.

Participants in the past have included "students from more than 8,000 middle and high schools, colleges and universities in every state and 70 countries around the world," according to GLSEN.

GLSEN takes a National School Climate Survey to determine how LGBT students are treated at school. The organization says its most recent one shows 85 percent of LGBT middle and high school students in the U.S. "were verbally harassed at school in the past year and nearly two-thirds heard homophobic remarks frequently or often."

Not all parents are on board with the idea. Alex Rodgers, a parent of middle and high school students in Virginia Beach and a Christian minister, called his children's high school to get information about the event.

"The gentleman I spoke to was very enthusiastic about celebrating the Day of Silence, that they were recognizing the gay and lesbian community," Rodgers explained to CBN News. "This day was supposed to be in support of them and to say not to speak against them or bully against them and that they were very proud of the school that they could have this... happen."

"I was a little taken back by that because I hadn't heard about it; I hadn't received any letter home from the schools stating that this would happen, and that's not the reason that I send my kids to school," Rodgers continued. "I was a little disappointed."

"My concern with that is this: I teach my kids to follow the Word; I'm a minister of the Gospel. I love the Lord; I raised my kids in admiration of the Lord, and I teach my kids in Leviticus, 'If a man also lay with mankind, like he lay with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination,'" he said.

"And when I teach that to my children, and to have a school system where I pay taxes for my kids to go to school, to show them contrary to the Word, that's alarming to me because if we allow that to happen, the more and more it happens, the more desensitized the children become that it's wrong," Rodgers continued.

"It's not wrong because I say it's wrong; it's wrong because God's Word said it's wrong," he added.

Rodgers plans to visit the high school to speak with school leaders about the Day of Silence. He also plans to keep his children home from school on Friday because of the event.

"I'm going to demand that my children not be penalized for missing a day tomorrow," he told CBN News. "I want them to provide the lessons for my children that they would miss for being out tomorrow."

"They (the school) have a group that recognizes the gay and lesbian community, and they also have a group for young Christians, but I wonder, would they observe a day of prayer for that particular peer group?" Rodgers asked. "Will those students be able to come in and have prayer in front of class before class starts everyday? And I would... think that they would tell me, 'No.'"

As a counter, the Christian ministry Focus on the Family is sponsoring a Day of Dialogue Thursday, April 14. The event's goal is to provide Christian students an opportunity to share a biblical perspective, especially on marriage and sexuality, in a way that shows love and respect toward their peers.

According to the ministry's website, it's "a nationwide, free speech event for Christian students. First Timothy 4:12 says, 'Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers.' Day of Dialogue, sponsored by Focus on the Family, equips students to do just that."

"Rather than emphasizing silence, this initiative encourages open dialogue. Focus on the Family firmly believes that the truth will rise to the surface when honest conversations are allowed to happen," they explained.

"The Day of Dialogue gives you, as a student, the opportunity to express the true model presented by Jesus Christ in the Bible -- who didn't back away from speaking truth, but neither held back in pouring out His incredible, compassionate love for hurting and vulnerable people," they continued.

"Events like the Day of Silence are often marketed as just being about bullying prevention, but if you look beneath the surface, much more radical agendas are being promoted, such as 'queer-friendly prom,' and getting LBGT-themed materials into your child's classroom," the ministry's website said.

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