Student Council of 42,000-Student ARC Community College Passes Vote to Officially Oppose LGBT Day of Silence

Sacramento, CA—In a Council chamber overflowing with students, the Student Council of American River College voted 11-5 to pass a resolution putting the 42,000-student Community College on record as opposing the LGBT Day of Silence, Thursday.

“The passage of this resolution marks new progress for Community Colleges,” commented Vladimir Musorivschi. “The Day of Silence has been used to suspend religious students at local schools for wearing Bible verses on their shirts. The Day of Silence is truly about silencing the voices of religious students and we will oppose this censorship.”

The audience was packed with students who spoke out in favor, and against, the resolution. Those in favor, arguing the controversial Day of Silence was an attempt to silence Christians, while those opposed argued the day was only about protecting homosexuals and transsexuals from violence.

The hour-long Council meeting ended with the majority vote siding in favor with students arguing for religious protection from censorship associated with the Day of Silence. The resolution met the required 2/3rds vote to pass.

“We are concerned about the Day of Silence being used as a propaganda and intimidation tactic which seeks to suppress dissent, such as what happened in the former Soviet Union, where some members of the Student Council escaped from,” commented Student Rep. George Popko. “We do not want to see our State and National governments attempt to use this to silence Christians."

This is not the first time American River College’s student council has been in the news for taking up controversial subject matter. In September, the Council voted 8-3 to endorse Proposition 8 – an action that led some students to lead a vigorous recall campaign attempting to unseat the student leaders who supported Prop 8. The recall failed.

Adding to the controversy, student body elections are next week, creating a stirring dialogue on campus from the classroom to the cafeteria.