Bulletin News

10/10/2011 

SUNY Cortland will recognize the diversity and inclusiveness of its campus on Tuesday, Oct. 11, with a celebration of National Coming Out Day.

An all-day event outside of Corey Union will support the efforts of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community on campus. Spectrum, the College’s all-inclusive gay-straight alliance, will offer a presentation at 6 p.m. in the Voice Office, which houses multicultural clubs in a room off Corey Union’s main lobby. Refreshments will be provided.

Throughout the day, campus community members will be able to sign their names on a long roll of paper that pledges support for LGBTQ individuals. Organizers also will hand out free bumper stickers that include the message: “I don’t tolerate hate.”

Sponsored by the LGBTQ Faculty Committee and Spectrum, the event seeks to eliminate homophobia and create an inclusive campus.

Tuesday’s festivities will move to the lobby of Corey Union in the event of inclement weather.

National Coming Out Day evolved after the second March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on Oct. 11, 1987. On that day, more than 500,000 people gathered to march in Washington, D.C. to celebrate coming out. Several LGBTQ organizations were born after the event, and the day’s anniversary now marks an annual celebration across the country.