Daily Double

1). For the second year in a row, students across the nation joined together and observed the Day of Truth yesterday. Students in junior high, high school and college were asked to wear a T-shirt that reads “The Truth cannot be silenced” and to pass out cards that say, in part, “I am speaking the Truth to break the silence.” What are these bright eyed and bushy tailed students demonstrating about?

A. The promotion of homosexuality in schools and to stand up for biblical values
B. The lax dress codes at schools around the country that promote promiscuity and to stand up for biblical values
C. Being forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to stand up for biblical values
D. Sex education classes that some believe encourage youngsters to become sexually active and to stand up for biblical values

2). The Day of Truth was designed as a response to The Day of Silence, which began on a small scale in the spring of 1996 and is now observed by tens of thousands of students annually at hundreds of schools and colleges across the country. The Day of Silence asks students to refrain from speaking for one day to:

A. Illustrate the isolation and harassment that gay and lesbian students experience
B. Protest being pressured to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to stand up for the separation of church and state
C. Protest the lack of funding and the resulting mediocrity of the public education system
D. Promote mandatory sex education classes so that young people are aware of the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS, and how to protect themselves


ANSWERS
1). A: The promotion of homosexuality in schools and to stand up for biblical values. The second annual Day of Truth was sponsored by the Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund. The first Day of Truth saw students from 350 schools participate, and ADF organizers hoped to have twice that number this year. Mike Johnson, an ADF attorney from Shreveport, La., said organizers were unsure how many students would participate in the Day of Truth, but expressed hope it would grow in coming years as more people learned about it. Johnson continued that the event is meant to be “peaceful and respectful,” but made clear it is motivated by belief that homosexuality is wrong. “You can call it sinful or destructive — ultimately it’s both.”

2). A: The isolation and harassment that gay and lesbian students experience. Since 2001, Day of Silence observances have been coordinated by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a New York-based organization that also has worked to support gay-straight alliances at high schools across the country.
Kevin Jennings, GLSEN’s executive director, said he doubted the Day of Truth would gain a following and stature of any significance.
“The Day of Silence was an event conceived of by students themselves in response to a very real problem of bullying and harassment they saw on their campuses,” Jennings said. “The Day of Truth is a publicity stunt cooked up by a conservative organization with a political agenda; it’s an effort by adults to manipulate some kids.”