The Stand for the Silent Club Empowers Voices

By Ignacio Chazarreta

Structural Violence is a term that is often used to refer to those who are being hurt but yet people don’t notice it, and it's as if they're silent. The Stand for the Silent Club stands up for those who are silent and aren’t noticed to be hurt by those around them.

Lucas Artime giving a speech at one of the clubs many events

Club Moderator Jorge Garrigo said, “We want all students to feel comfortable coming to school each day and having a great time. The Columbus Brotherhood is evident in this club and it has spread throughout the entire student body.”

With all this said let's take a look at what this club really is. 

The Stand for the Silent Club was started a few years back at Christopher Columbus High School to help prevent issues with bullying that the school was having. Many students like Lucas, pictured speaking above, and teachers alike felt that this was an issue and what better way to solve it than through the students themselves especially.

Lucas, a senior, decided to start the club due to some of the problems he had himself. Lucas has a speech impediment and due to this, he decided to start this club to help not only himself but others deal with similar problems.

And with this club in place, people can speak out about problems they may have with bullying.

Now this club, although in its short time has been able to prosper dramatically within its community.

“The club has had the impact of visiting over 10 schools and speaking to over 1000 children and teachers about the dangers of bullying on mental health especially on youth," Lucas said.

Stand for the Silent club at St. Thomas the Apostle to help spread awareness for bullying

These events happen and continue to happen with the club taking a trip a few weeks ago to St. Thomas the Apostle to give a talk, for example. Many speakers from the club went up and were able to connect with the students through their own experiences with bullying, but most importantly helped them understand the true effects of bullying. 

The Stand for the Silent Club has truly made an impact on its members, on our school, and on the community. The club has not only been able to stand for something more than just bullying but to create unity from those who have suffered from bullying to student-athletes, as Club moderator Jorge Garrigo mentioned.

“Our student-athletes have helped this club take the next step and they have fostered the same values in their respective sports,” Garrigo said.

The club is still growing with lots of Columbus students joining every year to help foster this movement and to help those who are most silent.