On April 25, 2008, students on college and public school campuses collectively committed to a vow of silence commemorating an event known as the National Day of Silence. This student-generated, nationwide action theatrically "speaks out" in solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people who for one reason or another fear they cannot, or simply do not, speak out for themselves. Inspired by the National Day of Silence, the author describes an assignment that asks students to write in the voices of those embroiled in the tragic death of a gay young man.