Some area students will be silent today.

Others will be conspicuously absent.

Today's Day of Silence is the 12th annual event to draw attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender bullying in schools. Participants are encouraging schools to adopt more comprehensive anti-bullying policies, provide staff training, support students and institute programs on respecting students' differences.

The event is sponsored by the national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

One silent student will be Fariss Hodder, a sophomore at Chesterfield County's James River High School.

She and nearly 100 other James River students have signed a petition at their school stating they will participate, or that they support the observance.

"I'm a big fan of just promoting awareness," she said. Students have been told they cannot be silent in class if a teacher wants them to participate.

"We're not trying to catch anyone off guard or get out of school work," Hodder said.

School officials in Hanover and Henrico counties said they know of no organized events at their schools. Chesterfield school officials said these are not school division-sanctioned events, but they allow students to exercise their right to free speech.

Nearly 4,000 speaking cards have been distributed to area students, said John Leppo, chairman of the Richmond chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The cards explain why the students are silent.

Virginia Commonwealth University will hold a Breaking the Silence event tonight at 6 in the Forum room of the Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

Some family-oriented groups are dismayed that school systems tolerate the silent protest.

Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, said groups like the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network are using schools to push their agendas, and that the Day of Silence disrupts learning.

"Silence does not teach anything," she said. She added that her organization supports the Day of Truth, which is Monday, that was created to counter the Day of Silence. She said the Day of Truth encourages students to talk openly about homosexuality and the risks involved with that lifestyle.

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or lcrutchfield@timesdispatch.com.