Rhody community celebrates National Coming Out Day
Community members of the URI community celebrate National Coming Out Day on the quad. PHOTO CREDIT: Melissa Marchese
Dozens of students made crafts and embraced their true colors on the Quad to celebrate National Coming Out Day.
The University of Rhode Island’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) organized the coming-out event held Oct. 11 in collaboration with the Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC). According to Annie Russell, the director of the GSC, this year marked the center’s 10th year celebrating being “out and proud.”
In the center of the Quad, SAGA welcomed students, faculty and staff to walk through a large door painted in rainbow colors in a show of support to members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In addition to this symbol of pride, students made bracelets, shared rainbow stickers and wrote about what coming out meant to them.
For Russell, this event is an important show of representation for LGBTQ+ community members on campus.
“We’re here, and we’re queer,” Russell said. “People can show their pride and a sense of who they are, knowing that they belong here.”
Russell said that the Coming Out Day event was geared towards education for students who might be unfamiliar with the significance of this day.
“We’re largely trying to focus on ally education and building allies for our community engagement,” she said. “That’s why we have the tagline, ‘You don’t have to come out to come in.’”
According to Russell, the idea of “coming out” has changed over time. She said that compared to her own coming out experience, positive progress has been made in supporting LGBTQ+ people and making them feel less pressured to put a label on themselves.
These changes, she explained, are essential in assuring the health and safety of queer students.
“We are growing and seeing positivity that is making sure our community has support and feels comfortable expressing who they are,” she said.
Manuela Vadis, the interim coordinator for the GSC, played a major role in organizing this celebration.
She said that their rainbow door stood out and proved how the LGBTQ+ community is gaining visibility.
“This right here is an icon of something that never could have happened in the past,” Vadis said. “It’s on campus at the heart of the Quad, and even if a student doesn’t feel comfortable walking through [the door,] seeing that others care is visibility in itself.”
SAGA set up lawn games, including cornhole and Spikeball, to entertain and attract students to the event. Vadis said that most students talked about their coming out experience and embraced the true purpose of gathering as a community.
She said that she was happy with the event’s turnout and was impressed by how many students attended the event.
“I’m so happy to see a lot of SAGA members and other folks, even if they’re just smiling from afar and appreciating what we do,” she said.
Throughout the remainder of October, the GSC will host a series of events entitled “Sex Fest” to encourage open conversations about sex and many of the issues the LGBTQ+ community faces both on and off-campus. The month will conclude with their annual Drag Ball and a live screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Students can visit the GSC Instagram page to learn more about upcoming events, including Sex in Music Day and Sex Toy Bingo.
Russell said that all students are welcome at these GSC events or at the center itself anytime, regardless of sexuality, at 19 Upper College Road.
“We’re about helping all people realize who they are and help them grow, regardless of their gender and sexuality,” she said.