Lucye Rafferty/The Hoya GU Pride set up a mock closet door in Red Square last Friday as one of several events marking National Coming Out Week, one of several events scheduled throughout the week.
GU Pride’s annual National Coming Out Week concluded this Wednesday evening after a week of events aimed at raising awareness of the LGBTQ community at Georgetown and the issues affecting them.
Friday, Oct. 10 marked the on-campus celebration of National Coming Out Day, held nationwide each year on Oct. 11. Students were encouraged to wear red on Friday to show solidarity with LGBTQ students, and GU Pride members manned a table in Red Square featuring information about resources available to LGBTQ students, along with decorations in the theme of the day.
“I don’t think people will necessarily feel like coming out,” Kate McDonald (COL ’04) said of the large, symbolic closet door next to the group’s table in Red Square. “But they might see it and feel that they’re not alone.”
According to Karane Williams (COL ’05), co-president of GU Pride, the choice was made to observe the event on Friday instead of Saturday, since Red Square is more heavily trafficked on Fridays.
“People need to see that LGBTQ students are on campus. People tend to ignore the fact,” Williams said. Students manning the table said that they felt the response to their demonstration was positive overall. “The student community has been supportive,” Linda Ichiyama (SFS ’07) said. Yet others said that they perceived some of the contrary.
“Look – you can see examples of people leering,” Patrick Metz (COL ’04), the other co-president of GU Pride, said as he stood at the table, looking across Red Square.
Other events during the week included a poetry reading at Uncommon Grounds Saturday night that featured Trinidadian poet R. Erica Doyle. According to Metz, this event, which GU Pride co-sponsored with the Caribbean Culture Circle and the Lecture Fund, was one of the most well-attended of the week, drawing a crowd of over 25 people.
On Monday night, Cathy Renna, the News Media Director of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, spoke at an event that was co-sponsored by the American Studies department. Renna spoke to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming whose death brought national media attention to hate crimes against homosexuals.
Renna told of her experiences in Laramie, Wyo. following Shepard’s death and of her collaboration on The Laramie Project, Moises Kaufman’s documentary about Shepard’s death.
Renna’s presentation ended with a screening of scenes from The Laramie Project and a discussion of her experiences as a gay rights advocate. Renna said that the increased attention paid to LGBTQ issues may also serve to motivate people to be antagonistic toward gays, and said that hate crimes against homosexuals are prevalent, though most do not garner media attention as Shepard’s did.
“There can easily be a comfort level because of the increased visibility that we see, but that doesn’t mean that there’s still not pervasive discrimination . and even danger,” Renna said.
National Coming Out Week concluded Wednesday night with a GU Pride meeting where the history of LGBTQ issues at Georgetown was presented. Co-presidents Metz and Williams told of efforts by earlier LGBTQ student groups to gain recognition from the university, an issue that has at times become divisive due to Georgetown’s Jesuit tradition. Metz spoke of the recent addition of a coordinator for LGBTQ affairs and the inclusion of LGBTQ activities in this year’s NSO program as gains.
“We’re on the cutting edge, and we need to keep pushing that line,” Metz said.
Mike Wilson (COL ’05) said he felt that events such as Coming Out Week would help to keep LGBTQ issues in the forefront. “We need to keep awareness out there,” he said, characterizing gays and lesbians as the “invisible minority” on campus.
“A week like [National Coming Out Week] is so important at Georgetown,” Metz said. “[LGBTQ students] must constantly reaffirm our existence on this campus”
Chuck Vansant, director of off campus student life and recently appointed interim coordinator of LGTBQ resources in Student Affairs, said he felt that National Coming Out Week and related events worked effectively to “normalize” the status of LGBTQ people at Georgetown. He said that he hopes to make LGBTQ issues more of a routine aspect of life at Georgetown partly by working to bring more speakers to campus and hosting more events like National Coming Out Week.
