4 out of 5 LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school, according to a GLSEN survey.

Today, April 25th, 2008, marks the 12th Annual Day of Silence, a day where students vow to take a pledge of silence to commemorate anti-LGBT violence and bullying and work to make campuses safe for people of all gender and sexual identities.

This year, events are focusing on the recent and tragic murder of Lawrence King, a 15-year old gay student shot dead by his classmate while waiting for class to start.

Here are some of the events being organized across the country:

Summit High School students in Colorado are holding a rally

UCLA students will be silent all day, and then break the silence at 5pm to talk about King’s death

This Facebook group has a listing of some of the events and the opposition.

And, as expected, the outraged responses from parents and community members who don't want their kids exposed to the "homosexual agenda":

Parents at Mesa High in AZ plan to keeps their kids home  

Mission America calls the event a “pro-homosexual day [that] communicates clear (and false) messages…that homosexuality is a worthy lifestyle”

American Family Association sees the Day of Silence as evidence of disruption by homosexual student activists wishing to push their lifestyle

And in an interesting twist, a black pastor speaking about racial equality plans to protest the Day of Silence at a Seattle-area high school, saying "there are so many issues at that school, and homosexuals get a whole day?"

Here’s a manual that GLSEN has put together for folks organizing around the Day of Silence on campus, and a tip-sheet for students who get a no-go from their administration to organize events.