While out one evening, Twin Rivers High School senior Wyatt Doser and his friends discussed how fun it would be to wear the craziest or funniest T-shirt they owned to school the following day.
"Later that night I was thinking about the next day and wondered what kind of attention the shirts might receive," Doser said. "Then it hit me. We could use the attention from the crazy shirts to be a positive force on the school."
This fun idea spun into the establishment of Shirts for the Silent.
Shirts for the Silent is a student-led group who stand up to bullying. Each Friday, students wear crazy and/or funny shirts to show their support to end bullying.
If a student needs a little pep talk or could just use a friend, Doser invites anyone to find members in a crazy shirt.
"We'd be more than happy to make your day a little brighter," he said.
Doser wrote and shared a letter with a brief description of how Shirts for the Silent would work and how people could get involved after the initial idea on Aug. 23.
"In the letter, it explained how a couple other seniors and I agreed it was time for a positive influence in our school that is viewed from a student's perspective," he said.
The bright shirts serve two purposes within the group: a way to distinguish a kind peer who is ready to help in a crowd of students and an ice breaker.
The shirts then opt for an immediate, positive dialogue that can lead into the root of the student's problem during a confidential conversation.
"It's very hard for someone that's struggling to know who they can talk to and who would even want to listen, especially in a high school setting," he said.
With no dues or meetings, Shirts for the Silent has approximately 15 members who have participated and continues to grow each week. An official pledge for members is in the works.
Since the first Shirts for the Silent Friday on Aug. 31, news of the group has mainly been spread by word of mouth and social media. The group also has an Instagram account, @shirtsforthesilent, for anyone to follow.
Doser welcomes other students interested in starting a Shirts for the Silent club at their school to message him for the original letter and pledge he drafted to help begin the process.
"Shirts for the Silent has brought positivity to the school and allowed people to create conversations they wouldn't normally have had beforehand," he said.
While Doser and other seniors at Twin Rivers established Shirts for the Silent this year, he said students from each grade level have been participating and doing their part each week.
As long as the message and goal of the group stays the same, Doser said he would be thrilled to see Shirts for the Silent continue for years after his graduation.
He added he knows he could count on every single person currently involved to keep Shirts for the Silent going or even make it their own.
"My goal is to help as many students have the best life they can," Doser said. "Even if it's just one student, I would be thrilled to know we had a positive influence on someone's life."