From actors to athletes, an increasing number of famous people are coming out of the closet, with a corresponding dramatic shift in media coverage of the LGBT community.  Most recently, the local and international arts and entertainment communities have taken steps to spread the word about GLSEN’s Day of Silence.

During Fashion Week 2014, celebrities like former NFL player Wade Davis, actress Allie Gonino, fashion designer Donna Karan, and MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts designed their own interpretations on the meaning of the Day of Silence and how bullying silences LGBT students at http://dayofsilence.org/elle.

To honor of the event, Harriton’s own Gay-Straight Alliance has created a display case to filled with mind-boggling statistics, like the ones below, to draw attention to the importance of this annual day of action.

LGBT youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people

9 in 10 LGBT students are verbally harassed at school

40% of homeless youth are LGBT

8 in 10 transgender students are sexually harassed at school

1 in 12 transgender people is murdered because they are trans

The GSA also put together a PSA that was shown in Advisory last Friday at http://hhsdayofsilence.weebly.com/.

What will you do to end the silence? It’s a question that dares every individual to take a stand against discrimination and bullying.