Correction: The original version of this article contained an error. Gatsby Miller is a fourth-year Russian and linguistics student.
Lining the streets from the Washington Monument to the Potomac River, 200,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals rallied in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11, 1987.
In an all-day demonstration of chanting, music and speeches, the demonstrators created the largest gay rights march of the time.
In 1988, the day was christened National Coming Out Day. Since then, people from around the globe have recognized the day as a time to celebrate the unique identity of the queer community.
UCLA students are no exception. Today marks the beginning of a month-long recognition campaign on campus highlighting the LGBT experience through a series of events.
According to Krystal Rincon, director of Queer Alliance, there are ongoing issues within the queer community that need to be addressed annually.
“These issues change over time, people can relate to them, and they affect (people’s) developmental processes,” she said. “These struggles are always happening.”
Among the events are a rally, a suicide prevention workshop and a multi-faith coming out panel, in which students share their coming out experiences in the context of their religions and cultures.
The events are programmed and sponsored by campus groups, including Queer Alliance, the Office of Residential Life and the LGBT Campus Resource Center.
When queer students gather to recognize the significance of the month, they may become less afraid of their identity and more ready to fully embrace it, said Gatsby Miller, a fourth-year Russian and linguistics student and staff member of the LGBT Campus Resource Center.
“If there’s one thing we can learn from National Coming Out Month, it’d be (to be) yourself,” he said. “Be proud of and love who you are, and the world becomes an amazing place.”
But the importance of the event extends beyond the queer community, said Jacob Klein, a second-year English student. Educating students outside of the LGBT community will help increase tolerance and build an additional network of support, he said.
“It’s all about love,” Klein said. “Maybe it’s different from tradition and convention, but people should be free to be with whoever they want to be with. We’re not trying to disrupt the world or overthrow the natural course of human civilization ““ we’re just trying to live our lives, and our lives happen to be different from the norm.”