National Coming Out Week at UT

By Rebecca Fontenot in Blog on October 13, 2010 at 10:00 am | 6 Comments

Monday marked the beginning of National Coming Out Week on college campuses and in communities around the country. Advocacy organizations at UT, such as the Queer Students Alliance and StandOut, are holding events all-week long on campus to support and raise awareness of the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) students.

Tuesday members of StandOut hosted a door signing and “kiss-in” in front of Gregory Gym. Students and passers-by could sign a board entitled “Closet Door” and kiss partners and friends of the same sex to show their support for GLBT rights.

Garrett Dee, director of the Queer Students Alliance, told the Daily Texan it is events such as Tuesday’s “kiss-in” that create a safe place for queer students at the university.

Today, there will be a vigil from 8-9 p.m. on the South Mall to remember those who have taken their own lives after after being harassed or feeling uncomfortable about their sexuality.

The Distinguished Speakers Committee is partnering with the Gender and Sexuality Center to present a lecture Thursday by writer and producer Dustin Lance Black. Black, a GLBT activist, won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film Milk. He also has received two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work on the HBO series Big Love.

For more information on the lecture and how to get tickets, click here. 

On Friday, a rally for National Coming Out Week will be from noon-1 p.m. on the West Mall. That evening at 7, a screening will be held at the School of Social Work of the documentary Out of Annapolis, which follows GLBT alumni of the U.S. Naval Academy in their experiences at Annapolis and in the Navy. Also hosted at the school, the Queer Texas Conference 2010 will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Photo by Michael Baldon/Daily Texan