Members of the Registered Student Organization PRIDE celebrated the end of the Day of Silence on Friday afternoon at a rally outside of the Union to remember people who have lost their lives because of their sexual orientation and to recognize the work that still needs to be done.

The Day of Silence is held annually when participants dress in black and remain silent for the day to remember the people who must remain silent or who have been killed because of their sexual orientation, participants said.

“Our silence was our choice, but there are many people that came before us who have been permanently silenced,” said Gary Yen, a graduate student and president of PRIDE, the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual student group on campus.

This year’s Day of Silence was held in remembrance of Lawrence King, an eighth-grade student from California who was killed by a classmate because of his sexual orientation, Yen said.

Yen estimates that about 100 people attended the rally, but the actual number of people who participated in the Day of Silence is difficult to determine.

PRIDE contacted high schools in the Champaign area to inform them of the Day of Silence and to welcome students to participate and attend the rally. In addition to participation by colleges, several thousand high schools nationwide participate in the event, said Bryan Thompson, political director of PRIDE.

“Typically, high schools tend to be more opposed to the Day of Silence,” Thompson said.

Yen said he did not hear any opposition to the event at the University.

“The campus in general is supportive,” Yen said. “If people do have a problem with it, we didn’t hear about it.”

Participants in the Day of Silence spent the day on the Quad where they passed out fliers informing students about the event and its purpose.

They also made tombstones that they placed on the Quad. On each tombstone was the name of a person who had been killed because of his or her sexual orientation, the date of death and a description of the crime. Throughout the year PRIDE had been compiling a list of deaths and used this information to make the tombstones, Yen said.

There were several speakers who presented at the rally, including ministers from Champaign churches; Fiona Ngo, an assistant professor of Asian American Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies; Curt McKay, director of the LGBT resources office; and a representative from state Sen. Michael Frerichs’ office.

“I apologize because I have wounded LGBT in what I represent,” the Rev. Keith Harris from the McKinley Presbyterian Church said at the rally.

Yen acknowledged that there is still work to be done, but believed the day was a success.

“I am constantly surprised at the willingness of people to step up and help out,” Yen said.