National
GLSEN ‘Day of Silence’ to culminate in virtual rally


With the COVID-19 pandemic preventing public gatherings and events, LGBTQ activist organizations have been forced to rethink their traditional strategies for raising public awareness about the many other important issues impacting the community.
One such organization, GLSEN, is planning a new approach to an event that has been an annual touchstone for LGBTQ young people for 25 years. On April 24th,
GLSEN, the nation’s leading organization on LGBTQ issues in K-12 education, will be hosting the 25th annual Day of Silence on Friday, April 24. A student-led protest of the silencing and erasure of LGBTQ people, last year’s Day of Silence engaged nearly 8,000 GSA clubs across the country.
This year, Day of Silence faces the challenge of school closures due to the COVID shutdown, which leaves many young LGBTQ people particularly vulnerable. With GLSEN unable to work within the school setting, protest organizers are instead doubling down on the use of social media campaigns, virtual meetings, artwork, videos and resource guides to connect and empower these at-risk individuals, and they expect the virtual rally, which will close out Friday’s day of protest, to be the largest-ever online gathering of LGBTQ youth.
“For 25 years, the Day of Silence has helped thousands of students connect to their community, but with the COVID-19 pandemic isolating many LGBTQ youth from their support networks, this year’s Day of Silence is more important than ever,” saidGLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. “It’s time for LGBTQ youth to live free of harassment and discrimination, and to feel empowered to break the silence, today, and every day.”

According to GLSEN, four out of five LGBTQ students don’t see positive LGBTQ representation in their curriculum, eight in 10 experience anti-LGBTQ verbal harassment, and over a third miss school for feeling unsafe or uncomfortable. Exacerbating the issue, many of the most vulnerable LGBTQ students are unable to connect to their school communities due to lack of access to appropriate technology.
One of the main talking points of this year’s protest, GLSEN insists, is that “plans to rebuild and reopen schools” after the current crisis “must address these inequities and make our schools safer and more affirming for LGBTQ students.”
Chris Staley, a high school student on GLSEN’s National Student Council, says, “By participating in the Day of Silence, LGBTQ students like me are advocating for our community and building a more inclusive future for all young people. This year, we’re using social media, creating artwork, hosting virtual rallies and encouraging our family and friends to join us as we fight for our rights and representation.”
The online day of protest will culminate in a national virtual rally to break the silence, featuring celebrity and activist speakers. Last year, celebrities including Laverne Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Julia Roberts, Kerry Washington and many more voiced their support for Day of Silence.
Jessica Chiriboga, a high school senior from Glendora who is a 2nd year member of the Council, lays out the strategy for Day of Silence by professing her own plans for the day:
“As an individual, I will change my profile picture to a Day of Silence graphic on Wednesday, and physically stay silent from 12 am on Friday to 2:30 pm. At 2:30 pm., I’ll be tuning in to the GLSEN Facebook Live to break my vow of silence virtually!
“As Vice President of Glendora High’s GSA (Gender-Sexuality Alliance), I will send out ways to participate (like sharing Day of Silence graphics, challenging friends to join) by the hour. What I’m most excited for is that we are planning to have an Open Mic Creative share for our GSA members followed by a screening of a LGBTQ+ movie!
“Through these virtual events, I plan on encouraging members to register to vote, as students can do that at 16 in California. Using our voices and our votes are important in breaking the silence around the bullying and harassment of LGBTQ+ youth, and seeing each others’ faces will help our members feel a little more normalcy.
This year’s Day of Silence theme is “Shaping Our Future” and GLSEN’s virtual rally will kick off a campaign to register and pre-register LGBTQ students to vote. Information about the campaign, running until the fall, can be found at https://www.glsen.org/break-silence-your-vote-your-voice.
Federal Government
UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House
University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams

In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”
The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.
“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”
Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”
Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”
“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”
Under former President Joe Biden, the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.
Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.
The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.
New York
Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade
One of the victims remains in critical condition

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.
According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.
The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.
The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.
In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.
The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.
New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.
“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
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