<p>I go to a Jewish school, and Jewish law blatantly states that being gay is an “abomination”. However, my friends and support gay rights. For the first year in my school’s short history, we’re organizing a Day of Silence. I composed a letter to all the faculty and I’m putting it in their boxes tomorrow.</p>
<li>Could I get suspended for this?</li>
<li>If I am suspended, will it look bad for colleges that I was basically suspended for protesting discrimination?</li>
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<p>I think you should talk to people before doing this. You could get into trouble for organizing a non-school sponsored event. What did the letter entail? Was it asking them or telling them? I think you should have found a teacher or club to support you first (do you have a GLBT club?) and then have gone on with it. But definetely don't start talking to too many people before you have the okay from the admin. If they realize that you already had this planned before telling them, they could be angry. Oh, and in your post, you kind of made it seem like this was a stunt against the Jewish foundations. Do NOT make it seem like that. Don't even mention the whole "Jewish law" thing. Just make it stand alone. This is the is the Day of Slience for gay rights, period. Even though it's a good cause, you don't want to mix religion into the equation, which could easily make you look bad and could make people angry. And lastly, watch your back and tread lightly! Schools have the right to violate just about all of your constitutional rights while you're in their doors (believe me- I've gotten suspended for "voicing my opinions" before, so I know!) But it's a really good cause and I'm glad you're doing it.</p>
<p>1) At a private school you could probably be suspended for anything. But you have to use your judgement here, there are many very liberal Jewish schools and communities. Brandeis University for instance (not a Jewish school, but has a student body about 50-60% Jewish) is once of the most accepting of the LGBT community.</p>
<p>2) It could. Especially if you are applying to catholic schools like Georgetown or what-not. I think most admissions officers would look upon it highly, civil disobedience can be quite honorable. For the sake of gay rights, I think it is best if you are suspended.</p>
<p>1) Look in your school's official rulebook, you'd probably be able to find the answer somewhere in there. If necessary, you could always just submit the letter anonymously...
2) Usually they ask you for an explanation of why you were suspended on the application, so a lot of schools might not mind</p>
<p>I'm submitting the letter anonymously.</p>
<p>And I'm definitely not applying anywhere Catholic for college. </p>
<p>And I'll copy and paste the letter below.</p>
<p>To the Faculty of [my school],
The Day of Silence is an annual event held to bring attention to anti-homosexual/transgender bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools. Students and teachers nationwide will observe the day in silence to echo the silence that LGBT and ally students face everyday. In its 11th year, the Day of Silence is one of the largest student-led actions in the country.
This year, the Day of Silence is on Wednesday, April 18. We know that this school has never had a Day of Silence before. We also know that homosexuality is an abomination according to the Torah. However, we consider this a day against all discrimination, not just gays. As Jews, we have been persecuted for thousands of years without people willing to defend us. Should we let the same thing happen to other minority groups?
We are not asking you to go against any of your personal beliefs. We only want to remain silent in protest and in solidarity. This letter was written to inform you of the possibility that there may be students in your classes participating in this day. We hope that you support the people doing so, and oblige us by letting us stay silent.
Sincerely,
Students Participating in the Day of Silence</p>
<p>It sounds very respectful and tasteful.</p>
<p>I doubt it will cause a flurry of controversy, unless you already know that your administration is bigoted. If your administration does have a problem, do not be discouraged, do it anyway!</p>
<p>Sounds good to me, go for it. Good luck, I would say that getting suspended for it will actually look better for you also. Which should not be the main reason you're doing it though.</p>
<p>Yay!!! I like your spirit and it sounds like it'll be a very calm protest. I'm glad you're willing to stand up for what you believe. Let us know how it goes and good luck!</p>
<p>Look at the school you're attending.... A Jewish private school. If it's against their religion, can't you just let them be? That's probably one of the reasons the school was made in the first place.</p>
<p>Sounds great to me as well, wasn't pushy or overbearing. It was a good idea to be anonymous too, but how will you get approval that way? Our school has a Day of Silence associated with SADD and drunk drivers, and everyone who participates has to get their teachers to sign a permission slip, but then again, that's just stupid public school bueracracy. You guys should wear signs around your necks or buttons, so teachers know and don't get upset. I hope everything goes well!</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations for participating in the Day of Silence.</p>
<p>Second, if you are punished for being an accepting and loving human being, I hope it gets your heartrate up, because you've got quite a fight ahead of you.</p>
<p>I would visit one of my favorite websites to check up on your rights before arguing with an administator, if the need arises.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aclu.com/lgbt/youth/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.aclu.com/lgbt/youth/index.html</a></p>
<p>One last thing. I've been organizing the Day of Silence at my high school for three years now, and I've never heard a homophobic peep out of anyone. It should be alright, and I wish you luck. The Day of Silence is an expression of mourning, not a violent civil rights protest. There's no reason it should be deemed offensive or disruptive.</p>
<p>I never understood the whole Day of Silence thing. wouldn't it make more sense to speak out against homosexual/transsexual bullying? Then again, my school is pretty liberal. Everybody loves gay people here! :P</p>
<p>In my school, many students use it as an excuse to avoid being called on in class.</p>
<p>^^^That's really sad.</p>
<p>I'd do it but I can't be silent, I just like talking too much, lol. o well.</p>
<p>I'd do it but I can't be silent, I just like talking too much, lol. o well.</p>
<p>I'd do it too, but I also talk alot lol. </p>
<p>But some people in my school did this last year. As for whether or not you'd get suspended, I think it depends on your situation and your school. </p>
<p>I'd like to think that we accept gay people pretty well here as well. The teachers were good about it, but still made students answer questions when called on, they just had to write the answers haha.</p>
<p>I find it really cool that you stand up for what you believe...you might get suspended but colleges kinda look for people that take those risks...</p>
<p>I think it's great that you're trying to make this happen at your school.</p>
<p>It would help if you could get some sort of in-school group support, such as GSA, Amnesty International, ACLU, any student organization that promotes social justice, human rights, civil rights, those sorts of things.</p>
<p>I know when we have a Day of Silence at our school, we need to run it by the administration and participating students have to wear a ribbon or sticker (a rainbow ribbon for the LGBT day of silence is a good idea) so that teachers can recognize who is participating.</p>
<p>Thank you for doing this in your school!</p>
<p>Day of Silence makes sense because in silence you draw attention to the cause. It's an interesting way for people to understand WHY you symbolically and literally "have no voice."</p>
<p>Tomorrow will be the fourth year I've participated. I'm involved in a lot of GLBT activism and school and county-wide although I comprise the "Straight" portion of our school's Gay-Straight Alliance. :)</p>
<p>I really hope you were allowed to participate in the DoS today. I'm fortunate enough to have a very open and allowing administration (public school), this is the third year we've done it and every year it's gotten bigger and bigger. </p>
<p>I think it's really wonderful to see the other posters in support of this day as well. </p>
<p>Let me know how it went!</p>