For 12 hours Wednesday, Ball State freshman Kyla Hankins didn't say a word.
"I changed my IM message and answering machine so I wouldn't have to talk to anyone, so it was kind of hard," said Hankins, vice president of Spectrum -- Ball Sate's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and allied student organization.
Hankins, who didn't speak from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., was one of 67 students who participated in the local observance of the national Day of Silence march at University Green. The national youth movement protests the silencing of LGBT -- lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender -- people through hatred and oppression.
At the march, as Hankins and three other students carried a black coffin with a rainbow-colored flag, two students carried a large white tombstone that bore the words: "Here lies oppression, heterosexism and hatred: 'No one is free until we all are free!'"
With solemn faces, a few marchers wore black shirts displaying Spectrum's Spring Week theme, "A Red Carpet Affair," and a picture of a red ribbon symbolizing AIDS awareness. Students also held red, white, purple and pink roses as they passed through the Atrium to University Avenue, back through Bracken Library and LaFollette Complex, under the Shafer Tower and back to University Green.
Several drivers, pedestrians and onlookers stared and smiled, while others asked them what they were doing. Nobody said a word.
"I think there are a lot of organizations trying to speak out about oppression and non-dominate groups," said junior Kelly Simmons, who helped carry the coffin. "Being able to be silent for those who are silent was great."
The crowd of students finally broke its silence around 5:45 p.m. at University Green with a loud cheer and the singing of two original songs by freshman Brittany Kusserow. In her first song, "One Nation," Kusserow asked, "What does it matter if we don't always view things the same?" Her second song, "Single Notes," stressed the need for people to unite.
"I wanted to get the message across," said Kusserow, who wrote the songs about two years ago and plays them often in coffee shops. "Instead of being music as entertainment, I'm glad I got to spread a message."
While remaining silent all day was a challenge for Hankins, she said she enjoyed the opportunity to carry the coffin in protest of harassment and discrimination. Hankins was also glad participants did not receive opposition from onlookers, she said.
"For me personally, it was like a memorial to everyone I know who has been hurt or oppressed ... in any area of their life -- race, religion, gender," Hankins said.
Hankins also said she was pleased with the turnout and hoped everyone could reflect on the reality of discrimination in today's society.
"We're not just going to sit on the sidelines and be afraid," she said. "We want to be a part of this world like everyone else. We're not going to be second-class citizens."
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