(4/27/2006)

Students Hold "Day of Truth" For Second Year

April 27 events seek to counter promotion of homosexual agenda in schools

BY BOB ELLIS

DAKOTA VOICE

According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), students at the University of Virginia held the first “Day of Silence” in 1996. The next year, the event became national in scope, and in 2001 GLSEN became the official sponsor of the “Day of Silence.”

GLSEN says the “Day of Silence” was begun to protest the “discrimination and harassment” of homosexuals, which in effect “silenced” them.

Participants take a day-long vow of silence, this year held on April 26, and distribute cards about alleged harassment.

Many in pro-family circles believe the “Day of Silence” is just a vehicle for the homosexual agenda to advance and normalize homosexuality.

Delia van Loenen, attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, says the “Day of Truth” was begun last year to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and provide true and accurate information.

The event is student-led and organized, and sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund, a group formed in 1993 by a number of ministry leaders such as Dr. James Dobson and Dr. D. James Kennedy, to protect religious freedom.

“The Day of Truth is an opportunity for participating students to express a different opinion, van Loenen said. “You can’t expect students to make good decisions if they’re only told part of the story. It’s about promoting open and honest discussion among students.”   Van Loenen said that students participating in the Day of Truth on April 27 this year will be wearing event t-shirts and passing out cards which say the following:

I am speaking the Truth to break the silence.

Silence isn’t freedom. It’s a constraint.

Truth tolerates open discussion, because the Truth emerges when healthy discourse is allowed.

By proclaiming the Truth in love, hurts will be halted, hearts will be healed, and lives will be saved.

 Van Loenen says the cards will be passed out during school time but not during class time. She said ADF received no complaints from school administrators during the event last year and none are anticipated this year.

Van Loenen said that if a student were to encounter problems with school officials, they can call 1-800-TELL-ADF and one of their attorneys can explain the Day of Truth to administrators. She said ADF has attorneys all across the country whose job is to defend religious freedom.    “The ‘Day of Silence’ seeks to censor any opposing viewpoint,” van Loenen said. “The ‘Day of Truth’ differs from the ‘Day of Silence’ in that all students are able to represent their perspective.”

Van Loenen said last year 1,100 students at 350 schools participated in the first ever Day of Truth. At least twice that many are expected to participate this year.

Students who want to participate can obtain a t-shirt, DVD and cards from www.dayoftruth.org for just $10, but van Loenen said if a student can’t afford that cost, they should still contact ADF and they may be able to work something out.   "Silence doesn't teach anyone anything,” van Loenen said. “An open, honest, and respectful discussion, however, allows Truth to rise to the surface.”  

Dakota Voice was unable to confirm whether there would be any “Day of Silence” events in South Dakota, as no organizers were registered with GLSEN as of this printing. However, the University of South Dakota in Vermillion does have an active chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Alliance. Augustana College in Sioux Falls has a Gay-Straight Alliance homosexual group. Rapid City also has a Gay-Straight Alliance group at Stevens High School.  

Robert Regier, Executive Director of the South Dakota Family Policy Council had previously indicated he has information that students at Rapid City Central, Douglas, Vermillion, or Sioux Falls Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Washington High Schools would be particiipating.

At the time this article went into print, no schools in South Dakota had registered with ADF for the Day of Truth event, either.

Corporate sponsors of GLSEN, the promoter of the pro-homosexual “Day of Silence,” include Cisco Systems, IBM, MTV, Citigroup, Fox Corporation, Merk, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, and Wells Fargo.

The “Day of Truth” is supported not only by the Alliance Defense Fund, but Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the ex-homosexual ministry Exodus International.