According to the Human Rights Campaign, a grassroots political organization supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, National Coming Out Day, started one year after the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which was held on October 11, 1987. National Coming Out Day’s success was a result of the momentum that developed as a result of the march. National Coming Out Day was officially recognized this past Saturday, October 11.

The Auburn Gay Straight Alliance (AGSA) plans to celebrate National Coming Out Day by hosting Auburn Out Loud this coming week on the concourse. AGSA will be passing out information about the coming out process and why many who choose to do this feel it is important. According to Katie Lushington, AGSA’s director of political affairs, “Thursday we’ll be hosting a celebration of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students, faculty and staff. We’re welcoming all LGBT members and straight allies to come out and share your support for the LGBT community and decorate some T-shirts that we’ll have. We’ll have rainbow colored T-shirts and you can come out and paint messages of support, and then we hang them up for everybody to see.”

Jennifer Barnes, treasurer for AGSA, also noted that straight allies are an important part of their work. She says, “We’ve decided to tie National Coming Out Day to Ally Week, where we let people know how important straight allies are to our cause, and how a straight ally can face similar hardships simply for supporting us.”

AGSA will be on the Roosevelt Concourse Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

AGSA is also supported by several faculty members. One of these is Gwynedd A. Thomas, an associate professor of polymer and fiber engineering. According to Thomas, she has been working with AGSA and the Spectrum alliance for almost two years, and she has been sort of active for at least five years. Thomas says, “I am the first transsexual ever to come out publically as a faculty member here on campus, and we have been very interested in supporting the students for coming out day.”

Thomas remembers celebrating Coming Out Day as an undergraduate. She says, “Over the years, it’s become much better accepted and we’ve had a lot better understanding from other students. Back in the days when I was an undergraduate, it was very, very difficult, and in fact it was outright physical hostility that was expressed.” Thomas remembers wearing denim to celebrate. She also remembers students wearing T-shirts with hate messages on them. But according to Thomas things are changing. She says, “But we’re not seeing that these days, and people are attempting to understand how we are and why we are a lot better. I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I continue to help out with it.”

For more information about the Auburn Gay Straight Alliance, you can visit their website at http://www.auburn.edu/student_info/agsa/

For more information about National Coming Out Day, you can visit the Human Rights Campaign website at http://www.hrc.org/issues/10772.htm

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