Silence, then violence: one day after taking part in the national Day of Silence, a 16-year-old is herself the victim of an apparent antigay attack. (People).

On Wednesday, April 9, 16-year-old Caitlin Meuse participated in the Day of Silence campaign, where students agree not to speak for a day in order to promote school safety for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students. That afternoon Meuse and several other students were harassed at Concord Ca, isle High School in Concord, Mass., by a female student shouting antigay comments. Meuse alerted high school officials to the situation.

The following evening, as Meuse was walking home from a friend's house just two blocks away from her own home, she was beaten in the face with an object police believe may have been a baseball bat or a tire iron. Knocked unconscious, she was found lying in the street by a passerby. Her injuries landed her in an intensive care unit, where she was treated for missing teeth, a broken nose, deep cuts, and severe swelling in her head and face.

The police investigation is ongoing, but Meuse and others can't help but wonder if the attack is a gay bashing related to her participation in the Day of Silence.

What motivated you to participate the Day of Silence?

I'm bisexual. I have grown up extremely tolerant of the way anyone lives his or her life. I have an older sister who is also bisexual and has a lot of gay friends. I believe everyone should have the same rights, no matter who they are.

What happened that day at school?

I was with a group of friends, and another girl started shouting things at us and taunting us, saying "Gay people aren't discriminated against" and "They don't deserve rights anyway." I found myself very agitated because I couldn't respond--it was a day of silence. So I tried to write things down to respond to her. But when I tried to give her the note, she just said, "I don't want to read your lesbian shit!"

What about the attack the next day?

I don't remember any of it, but it's obvious from my wounds that I was hit and beaten in the front. All my injuries are in the front of my head and face. I think I turned to look at someone who approached me from behind. The woman who found me on the street found my cell phone with me and used numbers stored in it to call my family and friends as well as an ambulance.

How is the investigation going?

Well, I'm not all that happy with how the police are handling this. They are looking into all the wrong angles. They're investigating my ex-boyfriend, whom I broke up with a few weeks ago. They're also floating the notion that it's drug-related and I owe people money.

Is there any truth to that?

Well, I'm a teenager--I've experimented but not on a regular basis. And I don't owe anyone money for drugs.

So why do you think this happened?

I think it's obvious. I think they should be focusing on the confrontation I got into the day before it happened. I do believe it is a gay bashing. It's too much of a coincidence to me to say it's not related.

If this was a gay bashing, how will that affect how you live in the future?

It doesn't make me feel afraid. I feel safer now than ever before, because everyone is watching out for me and being supportive. I am a little nervous about what might happen when I go back to school. [Meuse was scheduled to return to school April 28.] I don't think anything physical will happen, but will there be more confrontations? I just don't know. Obviously, I'm not glad I got beaten up, but I am glad this raised the issue. I do believe this is directly related to gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. I definitely would take part in other actions. In fact, next time I want to be one of the organizers of the event, not just a participant. It hasn't made me less interested. It's incensed me to become more involved.

Dahir has also written for Time, Good Housekeeping, and Business Traveler.