National Coming Out Day on Campus!
The Pennsylvania State University
by Craig Leets
Each year, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally
(LGBTA) Student Resource Center at the Pennsylvania State University
partners with LGBTA student organizations to coordinate a week of
programming to celebrate National Coming Out Day (NCOD). Because
programming lasts an entire week, this series of events has come to be
known as National Coming Out week (NCOW). This year, five events were
offered by the LGBTA Student Resource Center and the LGBTA student
organizations to celebrate October 11th. With NCOD falling on a Thursday this year, NCOW began on Monday, October 8th, and lasted through Friday, October 12th.
On
Monday
of NCOW, the LGBTA Student Coalition and the LGBTA Student Resource
Center hosted the "HUB Takeover." On the main level of Penn State's
student union, six tables were placed in the main corridor with a
rainbow balloon arch at each end. One of these tables provided students
with the opportunity to sign an ally pledge. At another table, students
could take complimentary buttons that had various identifiers on them,
such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, activist, and ally. The LGBTA
Student Resource Center also offered a table with information about the
Center and safe sex materials. Delta Lambda Phi, the Greek-letter
organization for gay, bisexual, and progressive men, sold rainbow thread
bracelets to raise money for the No H8 Campaign. One of the highlights
of this event was various students throughout the day who stood in the
middle of this corridor and offered "free gay hugs" to any passersby who
were interested.
"Is Faith Straight?" was the question that a panel discussion focused
on on the second day of NCOW. Four students from the LGBTA Student
Resource Center's Straight Talks program comprised a panel of
LGBT-identified students who have navigated the intersection of religion
and sexual orientation during their lives. While one of the students
shared a negative experience of coming out to devout parents, another
student shared an affirming experience coming out in his home and his
church. After each panelist shared a brief story about their experiences
with religion and faith, audience members were asked to pose questions
to any or all of the panelists about their experiences at this
intersection of identities. In response to the questions, the students
spoke about their personal relationships with their higher power,
continued struggles with navigating religion and sexuality, and hope for
a more inclusive future.
Wednesday
was the pinnacle of NCOW with a lunchtime rally and the Keynote
Speaker, Chaz Bono. A group of LGBT and ally students, faculty, and
staff gathered to speak out about coming out and NCOD. Three students
shared prepared remarks, including a story of coming out, a spoken word
piece, and an ally's journey. Following these students, NCOW Keynote
Speaker, Chaz Bono, shared his thoughts about coming out. Chaz
encouraged people to come out and be true to themselves, but he
cautioned the crowd to be sure that they came out in ways and in spaces
that were safe. Chaz also encouraged the crowd to vote in what he
referred to as a very important election for the LGBT community. After
Chaz spoke, members of the crowd were welcomed to the stage to share
their stories and statements about coming out. One of the selections was
among the most
powerful
and had the audience in tears, as a gay student shared an email from
his father that said: "if someone who is coming out doesn't feel like
they will have someone to love them afterward, tell them to come here
because I love them for exactly who they are."
On Wednesday
evening, an auditorium of 250 people listened as Chaz Bono spoke about
his experience growing up and never quite feeling like himself. Chaz
shared that even after coming out as a lesbian, he still did not feel
that this label quite fit or correctly expressed his identity. He told
the crowd that after depression and substance abuse, he came to realize
that he was trans and that after receiving testosterone for the first
time, he finally felt like the self he had been waiting for throughout
his life. Chaz ended his presentation with a call for people to be
themselves and show others their true selves because he has found
happiness in being his authentic self.
As a result of a canceled event on
Friday, a candlelight vigil on
Thursday
night was the final NCOW event. One of the Co-Presidents of the LGBTA
Student Coalition told a group of students and several staff gathered on
the edge of campus that the vigil was in honor of any fallen queer
youth who had been a victim of hate or took their own lives because they
could no longer handle the pain. Each candle was paired with a paper
cup that acted as a shield for wind and melting wax and also had a name
on the cup to identify LGBT people who were lost. Songs, poetry, and
personal stories were shared, including "Hope is a thing with feathers"
by Emily Dickinson and "The nutritionist" by Andrea Gibson. In closing
the event, one of the vigil's organizers promised to never stop fighting
and to never stop speaking out until LGBT youth no longer lived in a
world where hopelessness and violence lead to tragedy.
As the week came to a close, after celebration, speaking out, and
remembrance, students deflated the rainbow balloon arches with a renewed
sense of hope and purpose for the work that still remains to bring
widespread safety, affirmation, and equality to the LGBT community.
