Across the country this week, one thing occupies the minds of activists, proud queer students and allies: coming out. Today is National Coming Out Day (NCOD), and events planned for the week aim to give people an opportunity to come out, whether as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or allied.
On the Tufts campus, though, individuals are invited to come out a couple days later than the rest of the country. While campus events relating to the celebration will begin today, Tufts will officially observe the event on Wednesday to ensure maximum participation.
It is important to include everyone who wants to take part in NCOD, and although classes are in session, a lot of staff and faculty may not be on campus because today is also Columbus Day and a university holiday, according to senior Simon Katz, co−president of the Queer Straight Alliance (QSA).
"We want to involve the staff as much as possible, so we pushed it to a day when they would actually be there and be able to participate," he said.
Katz said that many staff and faculty members who identify as queer or allied have been extremely supportive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and make significant contributions to Coming Out Day events at Tufts.
Some staff members are particularly crucial to the campus events, he said, since they work in the LGBT Center. The center not only sponsors the Coming Out Day rally at the Mayer Campus Center, but also oversees all of Tufts' LGBT interest groups, including the QSA, Team Q, Queer Peers, Bisexual Students Group, Men's Group, Women's Group and Queer Students of Color and Allies.
Since its inception, NCOD has taken place every October across the nation, but it was established fairly recently in 1988, when Jean O'Leary, a former nun turned lesbian activist, and psychologist Rob Eichberg, author of "Coming Out: an Act of Love" (1990) decided to rally a group of activists and dedicate a day to the celebration of coming out. The day they chose was the anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which occurred exactly one year before on Oct. 11, 1987.
At Tufts, Coming Out Day is accompanied by a certain set of celebratory traditions — and new ones are being added each year. Historically, the day has been honored with a rally that packs the campus center patio, during which students and faculty share stories about overcoming anti−gay mentalities they have encountered.
Katz explained that the rally, which will take place this year during open block on Wednesday, intends to encourage members of the community to be public about who they really are — and possibly have the opportunity to find others who are like them.
"It is an event that is really about showing everyone in the community that there are people going through similar experiences that they are going through," he said.
Tom Bourdon, director of the LGBT Center, expects this year's rally to draw an unprecedented crowd.
"I suspect that this year's NCOD will be the biggest we've seen at Tufts," he said.
This year's rally might take on a more somber tone, though, as Tufts commemorates the recent cases of teen suicides resulting from anti−gay bullying, senior Kara Takasaki suggested. Still, raising awareness of such tragedies is an important part of Coming Out week, she said.
"We wanted the Tufts student body to have the opportunity to show that what happened, whether it was harassment, abuse, invasion of privacy or physical violence on other campuses which drove students to suicide is neither acceptable nor tolerable in our community," she said. "At the same time we wanted to foster a sense of solidarity, pride and support for difference on our campus."
The events planned for the upcoming week do just that. The LGBT Center last year published an "Out List," a register of names of faculty and students at Tufts who openly identify as queer or allied and are willing to serve as resources for struggling LGBT students. This year, a second, updated list will be published.
Additionally, the LGBT Center will host a free rapid HIV testing session on Wednesday, and Julia Weldon, a queer musician, will perform at Brown & Brew that night.
According to Katz, Weldon, who will also attend Wednesday's rally, writes her own songs, many of which feature LGBT themes.
"A small, intimate celebration like this has never been done before as a part of NCOD, but we wanted to [do] something a little more different and exciting to bring people in," he said.
Another new initiative this year, funded by the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, will give students — gay or straight — an opportunity to broadcast their support to everyone who passes by their homes. At the second of two open forums that took place in the LGBT Center to discuss a campus−wide response to the recent teen suicides, junior Elliott McCarthy suggested hanging rainbow flags in the windows of Tufts' houses and fraternities.
Under Bourdon and Tisch College Senior Program Manager Mindy Nierenberg's leadership, the idea blossomed, and the initiative was approved by Yolanda King, director of the Office of Residential Life and Learning, who was impressed with the level of support she has witnessed.
"Everyone involved, including students, faculty, staff and the administration, has been greatly moved and motivated by each other during this process," she said. "Everyone's committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment at Tufts. The outpouring of positive response and excitement about the flags from the community has been inspiring for all of us involved."
Free rainbow flags will be available starting today for students to pick up from the LGBT Center and display in their windows. They will also be distributed at Wednesday's rally. According to Bourdon, the flag initiative marks the Tufts allied community's desire to act.
"Not only is the queer community activated, but so are large numbers of allies," he said. "People I have never met before have been approaching me and asking, ‘What can I do?' This year, you will see hundreds of rainbow flags all over campus."
In the wake of the many deaths that have occurred in the LGBT community nationwide, Tufts has intensified its commitment to creating a tolerant community in which people can feel safe and accepted, regardless of their sexual orientation.
These types of initiatives serve as models for eliminating the enduring expressions of hatred that exist in the fabric of society, sophomore Bruce Wang, an LGBT Center intern, said. Wang, who is involved with Team Q, a group that runs discussions and workshops on LGBT issues, explained that many people still overlook how difficult it is for people to come out about their sexuality — and just how important coming out is.
"Although it might sound clinical, coming out is important because it increases visibility for gay and lesbian people," he said. "People are more sympathetic when someone they know is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. It makes it easier for gay, lesbian, bi and trans people to win their legal rights, along with the dignity and respect they deserve."
