Cody Sibley hopes to bring issues often kept in the dark to light with his new web series “Closet Stories.” Sibley’s project is one of the seven proposals set to receive a $4,000 grant from the Knight Foundation.
The grant requires students to use specific social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook or Snapchat to implement their projects. Sibley, a mass communications freshman decided to use YouTube to share the coming out process of LGBT people across Louisiana.
“It’s basically going to tell different people’s coming out stories and how their family and friends took it,” Sibley said. “I’m also going to talk to straight people and see how they dealt with their friends coming out.”
The show will begin once Sibley receives the appropriate equipment and will be formatted as a back and forth interview style show featuring a different guest every Wednesday.
With the money received from the grant, Sibley plans to purchase a new computer for editing, software, a camera, microphones and a set if necessary. He also hopes to use the money to travel to other parts of Louisiana to meet with possible interviewees.
Sibley is currently enrolled in Introduction to LGBT Studies and was exposed to several issues pertinent to the LGBT community other than gay marriage during class discussions. He hopes to use his project to address these issues, which are often ignored by mainstream media.
“There is no coverage of anything about transgender people or LGBT homelessness,” Sibley said. “It all focuses on gay marriage, and I feel like there’s so much more to the LGBT community than that.”
Several students including Spectrum president Julianne Martin feel it is important for Sibley to shine a light on these topics and offer different viewpoints on coming out.
“There’s so much of a focus on a heterosexual relationship that queer people and especially younger queer people don’t see themselves on display, or if they do, it’s always from the gay white male perspective,” Martin said.
Public relations junior Jonathan Ray Brown said this could be beneficial for young students who are afraid or uncertain about coming out.
“College is a good time for students that are coming out to learn more about themselves and learn how to express themselves, so I think it would be a good resource for people,” Brown said.
Sibley’s main goal with his show is to strengthen the voice of the LGBT community in Louisiana because he feels the state legislature does not do enough for the community. He hopes through the show he can empower the Louisiana’s LGBT community and get more accomplished in the state.
“I’m hoping that with this show people will see that coming out isn’t so bad,” Sibley said. “Hopefully whenever more people come out the voice will strengthen and we can get our issues addressed.”