The National Day of Silence is this Friday - to show support for safe schools for students. And who could possibly not support safe schools? No child should EVER have to endure being bullied for any reason at school.

Unfortunately T.R. Knight was chosen as the spokesperson for this observance. T.R. Knight is one of my least favorite actors, and he plays one of my least favorite characters on TV. He’s not believable in his role. He simply is not a good actor. Apparently he was the best they could come up with as a spokesperson for this year’s National Day of Silence, which is too bad. I guess he got the spot because he’s gay. That’s his only claim to fame.

E! Online writes about the observance:

Silence will be golden tomorrow for T.R. Knight.

The openly gay Grey’s Anatomy star has just signed on to participate in the National Day of Silence ceremony at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in Los Angeles.

Sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to help combat bullying and harassment of gays in schools, the day is marked by students across the country taking vows of silence during the day.

This year’s 12th annual programming - most of which takes place on Friday - is dedicated to Lawrence “Larry” King, a 15-year-old California boy who was shot to death in February by a fellow student, allegedly because King was gay.

I can also exclusively tell you that talk-show host Larry King is getting involved, too.

Just last night, he took a break from his live coverage of the Pennsylvania primary to film a public service announcement for GLSEN and the Day of Silence.

“Larry King and I share more in common than just our names,” King says in the spot, which debuts on YouTube today. “We both believe that all students should be free to be themselves without the fear of name calling, bullying or harassment.”

GLSEN president Kevin Jennings tells me that King immediately agreed to participate when they contacted him. “Larry King helps us reach the kind of mainstream audience he speaks to every night,” Jennings said. I don’t necessarily see this as a YouTube phenomenon, but I see this reaching a much more traditional audience.”

King’s PSA shoot comes just days after Lance Bass filmed one. “Whoever they are, whatever their backgrounds or beliefs, these students will take action because they believe that the bullying and harassment must end,” Bass says in his spot. “What are you going to do to end the silence?”

I hope it works. Growing up is a difficult process, and children who go through bullying, name-calling or harrassment have an even more difficult time of it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Headlines/Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.