Students at STU and UNB are speaking out – without speaking at all.
The STU/UNB Amnesty International chapter held its second annual Day of Silence last Wednesday.
Participants agree to refrain from speaking all day to highlight the importance of free speech as a human right.
Emily Peiffer, Chair of Amnesty International STU/UNB, believes the determined participants made themselves very clear.
“We were very successful, made a lot of people aware of the issues we are supporting and raised a lot of money, too,” she said.
“The idea is that we are silencing ourselves but reminding ourselves that speaking out is necessary and that we have both a right and a responsibility to freedom of speech.”
Throughout the day, the group hosted letter writing sessions, silent games, and a documentary screening.
Participants raised money by collecting pledges. The pledges are going to Amnesty International, specifically for the liberation of political prisoners. This was the original focus of Amnesty’s work and continues to be so today.
Peiffer said the work is crucial.
“Work that Amnesty does is very successful, both through letter writing campaigns and more costly measures such as bargaining and hostage-trading.”
Alicia Gagnon, a second year student at STU, has a passion for human rights, which is why she got involved with STU/UNB Amnesty chapter.
“I got involved in this group at the start of the school year because Amnesty International carries out awesome work all over the world in regards to preventing as well as eradicating abuses to human rights.”
Gagnon is double-majoring human rights and psychology and said that also drives her to be a part of the group.
“As a human rights student, it is crucial to get involved in these organizations to gain experience advocating contentious issues and being leaders in the field of human rights,” Gagnon said.
She believes that freedom of expression is “far too often taken granted.”
“Being silent for the day was a challenging but a fun way to make a statement and get people thinking about how valuable their voice is,” she said.
“It isn’t until you lose or are deprived of something, in this case, the ability to speak, that you truly realize its importance.”
Gagnon and Peiffer were proud of the group’s efforts.
“Letters were written, important issues were brought to light and money was raised to support an awesome cause,” Gagnon said.
And Peiffer believes that the awareness will continue.
“I think that this event is about activism on the day but also spurring activism for the rest of the year,” she said.
“The more people realize that they have some political power, the more likely they will be to regularly write letters and sign petitions, participate in grassroots democracy in all forms, really.”
