It's a positive development because another few days of contested campaigning would do damage to an office that is in serious need of unity.

We wanted a fun way to end the silence. Everyone there was having a great time, and rather than just ending the silence by speaking, this was a way to celebrate the day.

The day demonstrates that when individuals are homophobic and oppressive toward gay people, it makes us feel that our sexual orientation and identity is being silenced. For me, personally, it's an exciting and empowering way to stand up against homophobia.

It would be nice if they cancelled classes on Wednesday, but I'm OK with the way the schedule is. We can't expect to have every holiday off.

As many as half of the participants were straight allies, and they consider themselves part of the gay community even though they themselves are not gay. One of my goals next year as V.P. of Multicultural Affairs is to make the Day of Silence even more visible.

The election process has not been a shining moment for multicultural affairs. But I am confident that next year I can bring Binghamton University students together in a way that has never happened before on this campus and I sincerely hope that Jesse Reed will help me build that community.