Campus will sound a bit quieter than usual this Friday.

On April 25, as part of a national awareness campaign, students throughout campus will be taking an oath of silence all day to protest the violence, oppression and silence that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community consistently faces.

The Day of Silence (DoS) not only seeks to raise awareness, but to provoke change. Friday, participants will be handing out informational cards on campus explaining their decision to remain silent, facts about LGBTQ hate crimes and also stating a plan of action to battle this discrimination and hatred on both an individual and institutional level.

“Aside from the empowerment and education that people receive from the Day of Silence, it’s an important statement to the University that the student attends,” said PRIDE treasurer Nickalus Zielinski. “The Day of Silence helps to encourage the administration to implement institution-wide solutions to address the needs of the students, faculty and staff.”

Zielinski went on to explain that this was a time to remember and honor the members of the community that have been silenced by discrimination and hatred, referencing the recent case of 15-year-old Lawrence King. King was an openly gay eighth grade student in Oxnard, Calif., who was shot in the back of the head by a 14-year-old student in February. He was declared brain-dead, then was taken off life support and passed away. It was reported that the shooter’s motivation for shooting King came specifically after he had asked the shooter earlier in the week to be his Valentine.

There are several ways students can take their part in making a statement Friday. In addition to taking the oath of silence from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or staying silent as possible), students can dress completely in black, pick up some DoS ribbons offered on the Quad and even be a “Walking Tombstone,” displaying the story of an LGBTQ who was victim of a hate crime.

“It’s a very strong visual image to be walking down the Quad or sitting in a class and being able to see all those people around you who want to end the silence,” Zielinski said.

The rally to “break the silence” will be at 5 p.m. on the north end of the Quad, featuring several guest speakers.