Nicolas Shipman and Kathryn Davis hold homemade signs to show their pride and remember Coming Out Day.
William Schmidt/The Lion's Roar

National Coming Out Day was celebrated on Oct. 11, and StandOUT honored this day by setting up a table in the Student Union Breezeway to recognize the day and those who it impacts. 

“We want to basically just be a safe haven for those who are thinking of coming out or who have never come out about their sexuality,” said Vice President of StandOUT Gabrielle Filiberto, a junior social work major. “National Coming Out Day means a lot to people, even people who have already come out, just taking credit for their sexuality and we are here to support a community that supports that and supports anyone that hasn’t come out.”

National Coming Out Day is an annual awareness day that was founded in 1988. The day was founded in the feminist and gay liberation spirit of a person coming out being political. One form of activism was coming out to family and friends, to be able to live openly as a gay or lesbian person with a foundational belief that once a person came out, the people who are around them would maintain less homophobic or oppressive views. Since then, Coming Out Day has expanded to include the entire LGBTQ+ community. 

StandOUT’s table provided students a time to come out, and a time to raise awareness on how to safely come out. 

“Basically, if anybody feels the need or wants to come out, they can know the knowledge to do it safely because some people are not accepting of this, and if you are living with your parents, or you’re living with someone who is not accepting, you become homeless. It is not the best thing to do,” said Erica Cross, a freshman psychology major.

For those who may not be able to talk to family or friends about their sexuality, StandOUT offers a safe haven, and those who stopped by their table were able to write encouraging things to those coming out. 

“We service as a Gay Straight Alliance, so it doesn’t matter if you are gay or even if you are straight, you can be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community and we do have a couple of straight allies,” said Filiberto. “If they face negative stuff from their families and have nobody that supports them, then we serve as a third-party that will be open to support them. Even if they are facing some troubles, they can come in and talk about it. They can express themselves.”

StandOUT is currently holding a variety of discussions on different sexualities since it is currently LGBT History month. However, StandOUT offers more for its members. 

“It is good to meet people who have the same view as you,” said Cross. “I also came from a very small town with very limited viewpoints and it gives me a very different perspective on just knowing people and very different knowledge. It is a great environment and it is good about itself and makes me feel protected.”

Cross also wants people to know that if they are afraid to come out about their sexuality, others are there who went through the same or similar experiences.

“Just know that there are other people going through the exact same thing as you or they haven’t gone through it, but they know somebody that has,” said Cross. “There are always people who are going to understand and they can give you advice. Even with our group, they have a ton of knowledge on these topics and can help you through.”

StandOUT meets every Tuesday in Fayard Hall Room 213 at 5 p.m. and holds socials on Wednesdays to get to know one another which may include board game nights or movie nights. You can contact them at [email protected].