Hands firmly tied with a wire and beaten, two teenagers died in a crime of hate years ago and their story is still remembered.
Nireah Johnson, 17, and Brandie Coleman, 18, were put into the back of a car by their assailants who drove them to a deserted wooden area in Fall Creek Corridor Park in Indianapolis, Ind., only to shoot them on the forehead and abandon them inside the vehicle on the night of June 23, 2003.
Their assailants came back that same night to pour a can of gasoline on the back seat and set the car on fire after discovering that Coleman’s friend, Johnson, was a transgendered woman.
In memory of people killed in hate crimes due to their sexuality, the Pierce College Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) wore black lipstick, and taped their mouths shut as they hosted a Day of Silence Thursday on the campus Mall.
“We do this for people to be educated, for them to be aware that this kind of crime happens,” said GSA Secretary Daniel Maldonado. “The more we educate people and get the word out, the more people we can help.”
Sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the National Day of Silence happens every year on April 15, which is a day in which students across the country take some form of a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.
It was created in 1996, when students at the University of Virginia organized the first Day of Silence in response to a class assignment on non-violent protests. Over 150 students participated in the event, so the following year organizers took the protest nation-wide and nearly 100 colleges and universities participated.
The first Day of Silence held at Pierce was in 2009.
In a Harris Interactive study on bullying, students said two of the top three reasons students are harassed in school are actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. Additionally, nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experience harassment at school.
“This is definitely a right cause,” said business major Joao Ortega, 29, of the event. “They have the right to express their feelings regarding criminal acts against homosexuality.”
In front of the Business Building, GSA members drew 19 chalk outlines on the pavement that represented victims of this type of crime.
In addition to the chalk silhouettes, they taped pictures of victims and a brief description of how they were murdered.
At exactly 12:40 p.m., members of the GSA ‘dropped dead’ on top of the silhouettes for about ten minutes honoring the victims.
According to Maldonado, the protest was met with negative slurs towards GSA members from a few Pierce students during the event.
“It is very impactful; the visual representation and the words telling what happened means more, this is more personal” said Brandon Watrin, 19, architectural engineering major. “It helps to realize the relevance of it, because living in L.A., it’s easy to forget about the prejudice.”
GSA members are currently working in a project to implement a Safe Space program to promote the inclusion of LGBT students as well as providing ongoing LGBT-friendly training to faculty.
“We brought this program to the school last fall with a panel I organized called, Teach the Teachers,” said GSA President Amber-Rose Kelly. “I have seen the posters up around campus and it always brings a smile to my face. I hope to get these posters in every classroom before I leave Pierce.”
The GSA also wants to bring a volunteer therapist to the Student Health Center in the near future for LGBT students to have support from someone that is knowledgeable about issues they may have, according to Kelly.
The Pierce College GSA was established in 1995 as a political and social group that raises awareness and educates about the LGBT community.
They provide an open forum to students and members of the community to discuss current and personal issues every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m. in room 3206.
For more information, you can contact the GSA at GSAPierce@gmail.com.