October 20 obviously had a theme. There were purple streamers adorning the hallways, and people passing by sported hues of purple as well.

People were encouraged to wear purple on October 20 to make a statement against harassment, particularly the bullying of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) youth. The color purple was chosen because it symbolizes spirit on the rainbow LGBT flag.

The day was dedicated mainly to the memory of eight teens who committed suicide in September. Though it was in honor of these eight mainly, many other suicides took place due to anti-gay hatred.

Among these was Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University, who took his own life on September 22. After being secretly filmed during multiple interactions with another man, Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River. Clementi’s suicide made national headlines and called a lot of attention to the gravity of the situation.

Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Eric Mohat, Meredith Rezak, Raymond Chase and Billy Lucas also ended their lives during September and the beginning of October. These adolescents committed suicide due to the incessant bullying and ridicule they faced on a daily basis concerning their sexual orientation, something that this event tried to draw attention to with the intent of eliminating it.

“[The point is] to bring awareness to the fact that people are being abused based on sexuality,” said sophomore Sarah Kerndt.

The “Go Purple” event was started by an organization called Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Their aim is to let other lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth who feel the same pressures and pain know that there is a community of people out there who care about and support them throughout their hardships.

The movement was started to support youth who feel that life is not worth living because of the disrespect and cruelty they face daily from hateful people who cannot accept their sexuality. Many people believe the mission also serves to put an end to all hate crimes, and bring acceptance to those who are treated as outcasts, and let these people know that they are not alone.

“There are people who need help, and they need to know that there are people who can help like friends and family,” said sophomore Jenna Girbert, who recently lost a friend to suicide and feels strongly that people need to be more careful about what they say to others.

In an effort to instigate more support, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has pledged to be nicer on his infamous website. He got fully behind the cause and, after facing accusations of being a bully himself, promised to change his ways.

Perez has put out a slogan, “Love is Louder,” that promotes kindness in words and actions. Another famous slogan that has been circulating is, “It gets better,” which encourages teens to stick it out through the hard times.

Another goal of GLAAD is to let the nation and the world know that anti-gay jokes and the usage of “gay” as a slang term are offensive to some, and what is a joke to you might be a huge insult to someone else.

Their aim was to bring awareness to the fact that your words have an impact on people that you may not realize or intend, and you should be careful and considerate in what you say to everyone.

Intentional and non-intentional maliciousness is not acceptable under any circumstances, and the LGBT organization hopes that with all the recent attention, communities will start to accept people with sexual orientations different from their own.

“We believe in the cause that bullying, especially based on sexuality, needs to stop,” said sophomore Maggie Brown.