Gays, Bisexuals, Lesbians and Supporters United, a University LGBT organization, observed National Coming Out Day in Free Speech Plaza on Wednesday. National Coming Out Day is part of the Human Rights Campaign’s Coming Out Project that aims to educate everyone about LGBT people and help them demonstrate support. The first Coming Out Day was held in 1988, the day the AIDS quilt was first displayed in the National Mall. “It’s a day that GLBT and straight people can talk about equality and fairness and why it’s important to them,” said Mark Shields, Coming Out Project national director. Shields said he received thousands of requests for materials concerning the Coming Out Project. “It’s a great tool to help encourage conversation and dialogue,” he said. Andrew Nieman, biology sophomore and GBLSU member, said National Coming Out Day is an important event. “I recognize this day because I know how hard it is for people to come out,” he said. “It lets them see that other people are out and that other people care.” GBLSU distributed magnets, pins and flyers written by Jennifer Vitter, general studies senior and GBLSU vice president, explaining the significance of National Coming Out Day. By 11:30 a.m., the group had run out of magnets and pins, including ones that read “Straight and Supportive” and “GLBT” with the gender symbols under the letters. “I’m very pleased with the turnout,” Vitter said. In the flyer Vitter wrote, “Don’t let the coming out and celebration of your identities and orientations stop when today ends. This process needs to continue every day of our lives, so talk about it!” Nieman said most of the feedback on National Coming Out Day was positive, but he said one person approached the table with a different attitude. “He asked us, ‘Are you all gay?’ to which I responded ‘Some of us,'” Nieman said. “He proceeded to say that he doesn’t like or respect gay people. I still offered him a flyer, but he didn’t take one.” Nieman, who transferred to the University from Centenary College, said he came out to his family and friends when he was 14 years old. He said his friends at Saint Mary’s School in Natchitoches where he went to school never talked to him after he declared his sexual orientation. After he left Saint Mary’s for the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, Nieman did not keep his sexual orientation a secret from his new friends. “To me, coming out was a very positive experience, and it improved a lot of things,” he said. Patrick McGehee, biochemistry freshman, was Nieman’s roommate at LSMSA. “I came from a background where there weren’t many homosexuals in my town,” he said. “If someone was found out to be gay, it was not seen as a good thing.” McGehee said people should accept others for who they are and realize others have the right to make their own decisions. “You can disagree, but you don’t have to suppress it,” he said. Vitter said her experience confirming her sexual orientation was not a slow process. She said her family and friends were not completely accepting at first, but they realized it was not “just a phase.” “To me, the fact that they were able to accept who I am and other friends of ours who have come out since then – I think that’s progress in itself,” she said.
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]