Kristin Dunn, dressed in black shorts and a black T-shirt, might have blended into the steady student foot traffic along Farm Lane on Wednesday - if it weren't for the giant silver strip of Duct tape plastered across her mouth.

As a participant in MSU student groups' recognition of National Day of Silence, the communication sophomore stood on the sidewalk handing out fliers to passersby. Under a headline reading "SILENT 'U,'" the fliers listed grievances against MSU's administration on issues such as the lack of a free-standing Multicultural Center.

"Most people are taking the fliers because they're curious why we're standing here with tape over our mouths," Dunn said, removing her own tape for a few moments.

Colleges and universities across the country participated in events to recognize Day of Silence, a nationwide day of activism for lesbian, bi, gay and transgender rights.

At MSU, even though the day occurred during Pride Week, the focus of the day was expanded to include rights for everyone.

Nationwide, as many as 600 student groups from higher education institutions registered at www.dayofsilence.org to say they had events planned to recognize the day. The site is maintained by the United States Student Association, or USSA, and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

"Silence has been proven effective. It can be made very visible," said Nicholas Sakurai, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Empowerment Project at the USSA.

Sakuri said Day of Silence activism differs from campus to campus because "needs" vary across the country.

At MSU, more than 20 students participated in handing out fliers on campus throughout the day.

Rae Marcus, public relations coordinator for the Alliance of Lesbian, Bi, Gay and Transgender Students, said response to the fliers from students on the street was better this year than previous years, but that some people still refuse the fliers.

"It gets frustrating because a lot of people just walk by or say it's stupid, and I just want to educate them but I can't," the communication sophomore said.

English junior Shane Rose took a flier as he passed Marcus. As he slipped it into his pocket, Rose said he fully read the content of the identical flier he was handed earlier in the day.

"Whether or not I agree with it, I think it's a great way to get a message out," he said. "I admire them for standing out here and doing that."