Students and faculty gathered in Benson Gymnasium last Friday for a Day of Silence assembly featuring guest speaker Spectra Asala. Spectra, of SpectraSpeaks.com, is a writer and media activist who focuses on issues relating to the rights of women, Africans, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Students and faculty gathered in Benson Gymnasium last Friday for a Day of Silence assembly featuring guest speaker Spectra Asala. Spectra, of SpectraSpeaks.com, is a writer and media activist who focuses on issues relating to the rights of women, Africans, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
According to Rivers Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) advisor Kathleen Nicholson, the official definition of the “Day of Silence” is a day meant to bring awareness to the silencing effect bullying has on LGBT students around the world.
“I think we celebrate it differently at Rivers,” Nicholson said. “We are trying to turn it into a day where people celebrate all parts of their identity and feel comfortable and supported being who they truly are.”
Several Rivers students had heard Spectra speak at a GSA conference at Phillips Andover and immediately told Nicholson they wanted her to visit Rivers. She spoke about the importance of identity and the fact that although all people have multiple identities, they are often defined by their most apparent characteristic. Spectra describes herself as an afro-feminist and a triple minority – Nigerian, queer, and a woman.
Spectra left her family in Nigeria for the United States to attend high school at Phillips Exeter Academy and college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During her talk at Rivers, Spectra spoke candidly about the hardships she faced as a minority student at these institutions. She often dealt with repeated bullying from other students as well as struggles to discover her own identity. She finished on a positive note, however, telling students that she overcame these hardships during the process of finding her own confident voice in issues she felt strongly about.
Students like Ope Olukorede ’13 found Spectra’s speech inspiring, as well as a way to look more deeply at the implications of their daily actions.
“The most important part of her visit for me was listening to her share some of the most intimate stories of her lifetime and then to end on such a strong note,” said Olukorede. “The biggest takeaway, however, was to be assertive in everything and not to just do what others want, but what you want and what you know you are passionate about.”
After her visit to campus, Spectra said an especially poignant moment occurred about halfway through her speech when she realized how quiet her Rivers audience had become.
“Even after years of sharing my story, I'm still amazed at how much power an honest sharing of who we are can hold,” she said. “In that moment, I felt very connected to the students of Rivers, like they were really listening.”
Although she told students to avoid silence in matters of personal importance, Spectra maintains silence can be a powerful tool in encouraging others to speak freely.
“I was really moved by the attentiveness of the students, and how they used their silence that morning to encourage me to keep speaking, keep going,” she said. “I have no doubt that they’ll do the same for each other.”