More students than usual absent on Day of Silence
April 22, 2009
Nearly one-fourth of Mount Si’s student population was absent from school on the Day of Silence April 17, but there were no protests on the edge of the school’s property like there were in 2008.
Snoqualmie Valley resident the Rev. Ken Hutcherson, who led the 100-person protest last year, explained why he chose to encourage absenteeism this year, in lieu of holding a protest.
“We want it to be about the kids,” Hutcherson said. “Last year, they made it about me standing outside. We don’t want them to use it as part of the argument this year.”
Students divided over Day of Silence
April 16, 2009
The Mount Si High School Day of Silence, scheduled for April 17, has sparked discussion across the student spectrum.
Members of the Mount Si Gay Straight Alliance maintain it is a meaningful and necessary day for the members of their club and for the students at the high school.
Other students agree the Day of Silence is allowed under the first amendment, but argue the day causes controversy and divides the community. Those students are asking the GSA to incorporate the Day of Silence into the Day of Respect.
Junior Trey Botten is one of a group of students who would like to see changes made to the day.
“There is never a day I will support the oppression of homosexual individuals,” Botten said. “That’s not why we’re trying to take away the Day of Silence. Because of what the Day of Silence has become in the Snoqualmie Valley, there is really no need to bring it back here.”
Police keep watch over protests at last year’s Day of Silence at Mount Si High School.
Opponents to Day of Silence still unhappy
March 19, 2009
Roughly a month before the 2009 Day of Silence, Snoqualmie Valley residents Pam and the Rev. Ken Hutcherson are asking whether or not Mount Si High School will again allow the day-long event.
Mount Si’s answer? Yes.
At a March 12 Snoqualmie Valley School Board meeting, the Hutchersons and another parent asked about the validity of holding the Day of Silence during school hours.
“We never said we did not want the Day of Silence. Never.” Ken Hutcherson said. “We said you can make it before school or after school, because the school day should be for learning.”
The Rev. Ken Hutcherson at last year's protest of the Day of Silence at Mount Si High School.
Snoqualmie Valley full of stories in 2008
January 2, 2009
Immediately after the SnoValley Star began publishing in March, the Snoqualmie Valley provided many interesting stories to report on.
Just in the first month, there was another run made at a second high school, a debate over a soccer field, an agreement signed that ended a long-awaited moratorium and a heated public discussion over a hospital.
From a state playoff run by the Mount Si football team to a bizarre robbery at a local fast-food chain, the year continued to provide intriguing story lines. Five, however, stood out among the rest. Here is a run-down of the top five stories of 2008.
While the Rev. Ken Hutcherson and others came to Mount Si High School to protest the Day of Silence April 25, others were on hand to support it.
