By By Rob Tokanel, News Staff

‘ Northeastern student groups are sponsoring a 12-hour vow of silence to honor victims of hate crimes Friday as the capstone to Day of Silence Week.
The series of events, co-sponsored by the Northeastern University Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay Association (NUBiLaGA), the Feminist Student Organization (FSO), the Resident Student Association (RSA) and the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, aims to raise awareness for people and groups that have suffered abuse and discrimination as a result of hate.
‘The Day of Silence is meant to represent the symbolic silence forced upon people who are regularly discriminated against by society,’ said Dominique Chamely, a member of NuBiLaGA and FSO who helped plan some of the week’s events. ‘Essentially, what people are doing is they are representing victims of hate crime throughout different communities and making that known in our community.’
On Monday, there was a visual demonstration in the Centennial Quad where about 10 volunteers participated in a partially rained-out ‘die-in;’ they laid down with their arms crossed in front of their chests in honor of those who have lost their lives as victims of prejudice.
Kim Johnstone, director of public relations for NUBiLaGA, said the Day of Silence, which will last from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, will represent all victims of hate crimes, not just members of specific groups.
‘We’re doing this for more than just the LGBT community, and not even just for minority groups, but for anyone who has had somebody being malicious toward them,’ she said. ‘It’s working toward safer environments.’
Chamely said she knows of about 150 people who have already committed to taking part in the Day of Silence, but that turnout for the event will be hard to gauge ‘- a detail she considered to be a positive.
‘The nice thing about the Day of Silence as a whole is that it’s not like every other event,’ she said. ‘It doesn’t happen at one place at one time. It happens for 12 hours everywhere and anywhere that our volunteers are.’
Last night, former Executive Director for the Human Rights Campaign Elizabeth Birch spoke in Snell Engineering Center, addressing a wide range of issues, including civil rights in the workplace.
Tonight in 168 Snell Engineering at 7 p.m. there will be a screening of ‘Milk,’ the biopic of Harvey Milk, starring Sean Penn, who played the first openly gay person elected to public office in the United States.
At 8 p.m. Friday there will be an open-mic event in the McLeod Suites at the Curry Student Center; participants will be welcomed to break their vows of silence and discuss what they learned and how they felt about living without a voice for the day.
But Johnstone said protesting victimization did not have to be limited only to those who chose not to speak.
‘We don’t necessarily ask that everyone be quiet during this,’ she said. ‘It’s an awareness thing, so I encourage people to speak up about it, especially if you have someone you know who’s been affected by hate crimes.’