Students ripped duct tape off their mouths and screamed at the top of their lungs on Hayden Lawn Wednesday night, ending a silent protest against discrimination.
The protest was part of the National Day of Silence and was hosted by ASU's LGBTQ Coalition, an organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people and their allies.
Eric Kenney, a geography graduate student, hopes the event will compel closeted gays and lesbians to come out without fear of repercussions, he said.
While Kenney was afraid of losing his job, he couldn't live in secrecy anymore, he said.
His original coming-out was sort of an accident, but keeping it to himself wasn't worth it, especially since he's had a partner for 10 years, he said.
"I live a very normal life, and there's no reason to hide that," Kenney said.
Kelly Hughes, a kinesiology junior, said she has participated in the Day of Silence for the past two years because she used to feel silenced herself.
"For four years I lived the biggest lie and it ate me up everyday," she said. "We live in a predominately straight world and I had to be straight."
Many gay people feel they can't be who they are because they won't be accepted, she said.
Jana Goldberg, an early childhood education freshman, said she kept silent about her orientation during high school because she feared social rejection.
Enrolling at ASU helped her come out of the closet completely because of its big and diverse campus, Goldberg said.
"I took the harder path, but I didn't regret it," she said.
This is the first time that Goldberg participated in NDOS, and she was excited, she added.
"I've had it on my calendar since last semester," Goldberg said.
Shannon Rich, a social work sophomore, said people's most common reaction toward her silence was confusion.
She told her friends and teachers in advance, and they were all supportive of her, she said.
Rich handed out cards and wore a button explaining what she was doing, she said.
"It was actually easy for me," she said. "I think it was harder for other people."
About 100 students, most of them members of LGBTQ, took turns participating in the group protest, said Kalen Larson, director of the LGBTQ Coalition.
Approximately 30 ASU students were joined by high-school members of the Gay-Straight Alliance at the Night of Noise, Larson said.
"You have to fight for who you are," Hughes said. "This isn't a joke. This is for real."
Reach the reporter at: aimee.tucker@asu.edu.
