Kristofer Wilhelmsen lay in the middle of the south quad, wearing sunglasses and all black. He was not relaxing in the sun Wednesday morning, but protesting with duct tape covering his mouth.

The tape read, “faggot.”

Four other members of Eastern’s Pride chapter protested with Wilhelmsen, a sophomore marketing major, showing their support for the Day of Silence.

Wilhelmsen refused to speak, keeping up with the protest, but wrote a comment down on paper.

“We’re having a silent protest showing how the words people use can be offensive and can kill and hurt those around you,” Wilhelmsen wrote.

“We exhibit those dying,” he added.

The other members of Pride had tape over their mouths that read “dyke,” “queer,” and “carpet muncher.”

The Day of Silence is a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. It began in 1996 at the University of Virginia.

“We were not pretending to be dead, the duct tape represented those who feel they have to be silent everyday because of how society feels and their beliefs,” said Brooke Buchanan, a junior 3-D studio design major, after the protest.

Students walked around the sidewalk on the grass, stepping around the protesters’ still bodies.

The protesters occasionally gestured to each other, tapping on the sidewalk, deciding how to lay and sit.

Pride members decided to hold the demonstration to speak on behalf of those who can’t speak, Wilhelmsen said after the protest, which ran from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The goal was to show the power of words, and how words can really hurt.

“We were dead, in terms,” he said. “(The idea is to) make people either have to walk around us or over us – but at least they’ll notice us.”

Looking dead to passersby raised concerns for Wilhelmsen.

He was not sure if it was better for people to walk around them or over them, or if they were going to be kicked.

One protester was kicked, Wilhelmsen said, and he did not hear an apology for it.

“At first I thought it was on accident but the second time I knew it wasn’t,” said Erik Rose, a junior elementary education major. “I was kicked twice while laying down with people stepping over me. I could feel force behind their foot when they did it.”

Rose said the kicking happened to others.

Pride members were showing the power of the words that have killed them. For every time they’ve heard someone say, ‘Oh, that’s so gay,’ or used the words “fag” and queer,” they were making a point for it.

“I was extremely surprised at how things went,” Wilhelmsen said.

Some people came up to the protesters and said they were really supporting the group, he said.

“One professor came over and said thank you for doing this,” Buchanan said.

Wilhelsen also noted the looks of shock he saw. A few people stopped and just watched the act for several minutes, he said.

Some student reactions were much more harsh.

Wilhelmsen said he heard comments from people telling him that he is going to Hell.

“I struggle, because I hear people say, ‘Are you .(expletive). serious?'” he said. “And yes, I’m serious. Yes, I’m laying on the ground. Yes, it’s a serious factor.”

Other individuals used comments to express their feelings about the group.

“They can’t be serious, why are they doing this some said,” Rose said. “I thought Eastern was an open community but (there is) still a lot of homophobia on campus.”

Not all Pride members feel Eastern is homophobic, but all the protestors admitted they have had bad experiences on campus.

“I have only had a few bad experiences,” Buchanan said. “Eastern isn’t too horrible, but there is discrimination.”

Buchanan says that she thinks people stare at her because she is an open lesbian; her appearance gives her away.

Rose said the gay, lesbian, bisexual community was simply trying to make a demonstration. It was an attempt to let people know the GLB community is here and trying to break the silence, he said.

“We come from central Illinois – it’s no Champaign, our gay community is here but they’re silenced,” Wilhemsen said. “They’re not all out. They need to know Pride is there speaking for them, and supporting them.”

Members of Pride, Kristofer Wilhelmsen, a sophomore marketing major, and Tessa Stouffer, a freshman music education major, lay in the middle of the south quad Wednesday morning for an hour-long protest in support of the “Day of Silence.” Carrie Hollis/The

(more…)