VOICES DAY: THE NEW NAMES DAY

On Tuesday, Nov. 26, Greenwich High School Freshmen participated in Voices Day, an anti-bullying and anti-bias program. Until this year, Freshmen participated in a similar program known as Names Day, which was run by the Anti Defamation League’s (ADL) “No Place for Hate" program. The ADL discontinued the Names Day program, and Voices Day was chosen to replace it. The GHS staff took the core components of Names Day and rebranded it into Voices Day, led by Cantor House Assistant Dean Daniel Silkman. In an interview with Silkman, he shared that Voices Day focuses “on scenarios that are more tailored to our school.”

Voices Day consists of three parts: a whole Freshmen class assembly in the morning, small group discussions, and a closing assembly. Twenty five GHS staff members and 58 upperclassmen led the discussions and helped with the assemblies. The whole class assembly in the morning educated students about bullying and bias. Students learned about stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and what it means to be an ally, bystander, perpetrator, or a target. The moderator shared personal stories and the panelists (five to six Juniors and Seniors) also shared their stories. The assembly ended with an open mic, which was an opportunity for Freshmen to share their own stories as well. One Freshman shared that his favorite activity was the open mic. 

Students then went to lunch, which was followed by small group discussions. The small group discussions were student-led and included ice-breakers and questions about student’s reactions to the assembly. Students then went to the closing assembly in the PAC. The closing assembly included reflection activities to help identify the biggest challenges facing our school community. Students were also asked to think about what they can do with the information learned on Voices Day to address these problems. Silkman stated that the closing assembly is the most important part of the day, and that his hope is for students to understand “how [they] can be an ally in our school.”