Can’t they just text each other like most young people do nowadays?

Students across the country will be used as pawns this week by proponents and detractors of the Day of Silence. The annual event — organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network — will be held Friday, April 17 at numerous schools.

Young people participating in the event will remain silent for the entire time they are at school. The idea is to bring “attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools,” according to the event’s Web site.

“Each year, the event has grown, now with hundreds of thousands of students coming together to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior,” it says.

Two years ago, the group had a list online of local schools where students had agreed to participate. However, no such list can be found anywhere now.

This is perhaps due in part to the objections raised by organizations that view homosexuality as immoral. One of those groups, the Glen Ellyn-based Illinois Family Institute, is urging parents to keep their children home that day as part of the Day of Silence Walkout.

“A broad coalition of individuals and organizations is urging parents to oppose the Day of Silence, a political action sponsored by the (GLSEN), because it politicizes the classroom for ideological purposes. The explicit purpose of DOS is to encourage sympathy and support for students involved in homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors whose voices have been allegedly silenced by the disapproval of society,” according to IFI’s site. “The implicit purpose is to undermine the belief that homosexuality and cross-dressing is immoral.”

To be sure, the IFI is right in that the Day of Silence “politicizes the classroom for ideological purposes.” But if this is the case, wouldn’t a walkout do the same thing?

GLSEN chapters should hold an alternative activity rather than a Day of Silence, such as an after-school rally to communicate their objectives. Or better yet, organize a debate with opponents so both sides can discuss their ideas.

Classrooms are for turning students into critical thinkers, not advancing political agendas. Discussing the different viewpoints raised by this issue is an appropriate topic at school, just not as an all-day event.

Jerry Moore is the opinions editor for Suburban Life Publications and can be contacted at jmoore@mysuburbanlife.com. His blog, Suburban Shoutout, can be found at www.mysuburbanlife.com.