Night of Noise held to fight bullying

Posted on April 18, 2008
Filed Under Gay News Blog

A small group of students gathered in Burlington’s City Hall Park on Wednesday by a rainbow-colored banner and clusters of balloons. They exchanged hugs and laughs, but the gathering was not a party — it was a protest.

The teen-agers who showed up were assembled for a so-called Night of Noise to protest bullying and harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

The Burlington event followed observances at some schools of a statewide Day of Silence designed to bring attention to the same problem.

Elizabeth Thompson, a member of the Pride Alliance at Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans, came to the Burlington gathering with two other students from her school. All three participated in the Day of Silence at BFA, wearing stickers and handing out small pieces of white paper that explained their intent: To stop the silence about anti-gay bullying and to advocate for respect.

“It’s looked down upon, being open with your sexuality if it’s different,” said Thompson, a 16-year-old who says she is bisexual. See Night of Noise held to fight bullying
BurlingtonFreePress.com, VT