USU students celebrate National Coming Out Day
Students, faculty and community members gathered Wednesday to share support and experiences regarding homosexuality at USU’s first celebration of National Coming Out Day.
Sponsored by the USU club, Love Is For Everyone (LIFE), the event was a public forum focused on advocacy and education, which are two ideas the organization is founded on, said club president Matthew Hollen.
About 50 people attended the gathering on the Taggart Student Center Patio, which featured anecdotes and personal coming-out stories from more than 15 people.
“I’m coming out today. I’m gay,” said student Jonathon Tonioli, the second person to approach the open mic.
Oct. 11 was declared National Coming Out Day by President Bill Clinton to commemorate the 1987 Washington D.C. march when more than 500,000 people walked to support equal rights for gays and lesbians, Hollen said.
In an effort to educate the student body about the presence of homosexual students, Hollen said the forum was a way of “letting everyone know that there is a very large gay and lesbian population on campus.”
Wednesday’s event was open for students of all orientations to express their opinions and learn about homosexuality, he said. Everyone who spoke was supportive or gay themselves, though Hollen said he would have liked to have seen more opinions, including some opposition.
Not all the personal stories were positive, however. Kolby Kent Nelson, a junior majoring in sociology, spoke about his dislike for the way gays are treated at USU. He said he and his boyfriend were harassed at the homecoming after-party by a group of male students who followed them around and swore at them.
“All my stories are sad,” he said.
A therapist once wanted to treat him with shock therapy, Nelson said, and he spoke out because he wants people to realize that being gay isn’t something he can change and is very comfortable with who he is.
LIFE has about 50 members, some of which are heterosexual. The club has received widespread support from the community and administration, which Hollen said really surprised him.
Brandi Harline, a member of LIFE, spoke toward the end of the lineup about her changed perspective about gay people. She joined the club “to gain a different perspective” and said her comments at the gathering were to show support for her gay friends because coming out takes a lot of courage.
“I wanted the people who are homosexuals to know that I appreciate what they’re doing,” Harline said.
The forum was part of LIFE’s “That’s so gay” campaign that featured trivia about famous gay people on posters around campus, as well as intermittently during the open mic hour. The weeklong promotion was aimed at making small and noticeable steps toward awareness.
“We don’t want to be in your face,” Hollen said.
Some of the speakers at the event said they had yet to tell their families or close friends about their orientation. Rusty Rigby, a senior majoring in math education, said, “Coming out is a continuous process.”
He told of his 2005 experience when an e-mail circulated about his orientation during his campaign for campus diversity vice president. He said that experience helped him become more comfortable with himself.
Hollen said he was a little nervous about having an open mic.
“I didn’t want a lot of stories to be about sex and about alcohol,” he said. “There were a few.”
When no one shared experiences, space was filled with songs like, “I’m Coming Out” and “I Will Survive.”
Overall, he said he was really pleased with the event.
“I was proud,” Hollen said.
He said he plans on having another awareness campaign next semester where members will remain silent for three hours to show how difficult it is to keep something as important as sexual orientation hidden.
-mof@cc.usu.edu