News
Students Rally for National Coming Out Day
by Dave Kim
Staff Writer

National coming out day

October 11th, 1987 marked the second gay/lesbian demonstration in our nation's capital, with over half a million activists celebrating "sexual diversity." In March of the following year, over one hundred activists congregated in Manassas, Virginia to establish a National Coming Out Day.

The momentum of two decades past made its way onto the Stanford University campus on October 15, as the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center (LGBT-CRC) hosted its first National Coming Out Day celebration. The event took place in White Plaza and included a performance by dance group Capoeira as well as a reading by author Thomas Glave from his book Whose Song? And Other Stories. A wide range of gay and lesbian groups such as the Black/Queer Organization, the Queer Straight Social/Political Alliance, and the LGBTC Meds set up booths along the perimeter of White Plaza as curious students poured in to ask questions and gather information. Delshan Tyette Hanks, a staff member at the LGBTC and President of the Black/Queer group, commented that the primary purpose of the event was "to be visible."

Indeed, the National Coming Out Day Event made awareness and education its main concerns. Mr. Hanks commented that "students really appreciated the open forum" as students and staff, in acts of boldness and solidarity, shared their coming out stories and messages. Jesse Evans, co-founder of the Queer Straight Social/Political Alliance, echoed this same concern with visibility. According to Mr. Evans, it is important to "bridge queer and queer allied communities and foster a friendly social environment and opportunities for political activisim." One student comments, "I think visibility is good for many [gay/lesbian] groups, but I don't think there's enough. I don't know if enough people know about the LGBT-CRC and the resources it has." Communication is paramount; disseminating educational flyers and gay/lesbian support materials, Mr. Evans hopes, will raise awareness and encourage support especially in the queer allied community.

This past month, the LGBTC ran a series of events to promote awareness of sexual diversity. In a forum called "Open Conversation," Professor Roughgarden engaged in an open discussion with interested students at the LGBT Center. Later that month, Mr. Roughgarden introduced innovative subjects in evolutionary biology as it relates to gender. Currently, in a discussion group called "Coming Out: OutTalk," Ben Davidson, director of the LGBT-CRC, and Laura Harrison, director of the Woman's Community Center, facilitate confidential and open conversations about coming out, providing a comfortable environment in which students may explore living out in the open.

Many students feel that further awareness is unnecessary, given that the Stanford community appears to be highly receptive to gays and lesbians on campus. Still, while the Stanford student body is outwardly tolerant, there are signs of intolerance privately harbored by students. Many incoming freshmen hold expectations of overwhelming tolerance coming into Stanford University. A freshman reports, "I was surprised; you would expect an institution like this one to be extremely tolerant, but actually, many students come here with strong, intolerant views." One student admits, "Guys joke about being gay all the time and everyone laughs; but the more I think about it, the more I realize how uncomfortable it would be for someone here to come out. . . .I can't really see anyone coming out in this dorm." Junior Sonal Rana opines, "I feel like despite its liberal facade, [Stanford University] is really quite conservative. There's a degree of homosexual bashing in the dorms; while it may be in jest, it's not cool. It's everywhere on campus and I feel like those kind of issues are not brought up often enough." She adds, "[Gays and lesbians] are tolerated, but they're not accepted."

The National Coming Out Day event reminds questioning students to not only examine themselves but to celebrate their sexual identities. Such openness, however, is highly contingent upon broad based community acceptance. Hoping to garner more support for LGBT awareness, Mr. Evans declares, "No matter who you are, there is a place for you in this community; whether you're queer or queer allied, you belong." It is an assurance he hopes will be realized by others on campus.

Page last modified on Thursday, 02-Mar-2006 00:12:44 MST.