Carleton to Celebrate “National Coming Out Week”
To celebrate National Coming Out Week, October 4-12, Carleton’s Gender and Sexuality Center will be sponsoring a number of on-campus events, including a drag show, discussions, and a candlelight vigil. The events listed here are free and open to the public.
To celebrate National Coming Out Week, October 4-12, Carleton’s Gender and Sexuality Center will be sponsoring a number of on-campus events, including a drag show, discussions, and a candlelight vigil. The events listed here are free and open to the public.
The week kicks-off with a drag show on Saturday, October 4 at 10 p.m. in the Sayles-Hill Campus Center. The performance will feature drag queens from Minneapolis’ renowned Gay 90s nightclub.
The week continues with a release party for the publication “When I Knew” on Tuesday, October 4 at 5 p.m. in the Gould Library Athenaeum. The work is a compilation of current and former Carleton students’ coming out stories. “We did the project to have a solid publication that documented the experiences that existed within the queer community here at Carleton,” says project coordinator Justin Smith ‘09 (Crossville, Tenn.) “Not only does it showcase our experiences to each other, but it’s something that we can use as an example of who we are and how we exist here.” The release event will feature readings from the publication.
On Thursday, October 9—the 10th anniversary of the Matthew Shepard attack—at noon, a panel of Carleton faculty and staff will reflect on the high-profile hate crime and provide historical context. The discussion will take place in Leighton Hall, Room 402.
The final event of the week is an open vigil on Friday, October 10 in memory of Shepard. Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., all members of the Carleton community are invited to light a candle inside the chapel and take time for silent reflection. Shepard was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was murdered near Lamarie, Wyo. His murder brought national as well as international attention to the issue of hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels.
National Coming Out Day was first celebrated in the United States on October 11, 1988, the one-year anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Although the celebration is still known as “National” Coming Out Week, it is now observed in growing number of countries worldwide. It is a week in which gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ally individuals are encouraged to celebrate their identities in visible, positive ways in hopes of encouraging others to do the same.
For more information about any of the events, including disability accommodations, contact the Gender and Sexuality Center at (507) 222-5222.