More than 600 colleges and universities will participate tomorrow in a Day of Silence sponsored by the U.S. Student Association (USSA).

The Day of Silence protests against barriers facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students in higher education.

Some campuses will also register students to vote on this day, in addition to educating them on LGBT issues. Nicholas Sakurai is the director of the LGBT Student Empowerment Project at the USSA Foundation.

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies want respect and rights,” he said.

“College students across the country are demanding a shift in campus culture and policy.”

At two universities, Miami University in Ohio and the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, students are focusing on marriage equality and domestic partner benefits.

Students at Spelman College in Georgia are working for health services sensitive to “same-gender-loving students.”

The students at the University of Redlands in California are presenting their proposal to create an LGBT resource center on the Day of Silence.

“Colleges and universities must take lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students seriously and make their campus policies and services LGBT-inclusive,” said USSA president Rebecca Wasserman.

“Without the right policies in place, access to higher education for LGBT students will continue to be stifled. USSA is proud to sponsor Day of Silence and help push the positive changes we desperately need on campuses nationwide.”

“While the LGBT community continues to make major gains, the attacks on our campus LGBT communities have also grown,” said David Glisch-Sanchez, chair of USSA’s National Queer Student Coalition.

According to the FBI, 37 percent of reported hate crimes on campuses in 2002 were based on sexual orientation. This was an increase from 2001.

The Day of Silence is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and the USSA, and was begun in 1996 at the University of Virginia.

USSA has existed for 57 years, and is the oldest national student association in the United States.

For more information about the Day of Silence, contact

The USSA Foundation, 1413 K St. NW,9th Floor, Washington D.C., 20005.