Students kiss and tell to promote acceptance

Though couples may steal private kisses on campus quads between
classes, rarely do students openly show their affection as friends
and strangers clap and cheer.

But at a “kiss-in” at Meyerhoff Park on Thursday
afternoon, students did just that.

As part of National Coming Out Week, students publicly kissed to
the sounds of Marvin Gaye and Faith Hill and the encouragement of
members of the UCLA Student Coalition for Marriage Equality and the
Queer Alliance.

Some students kissed others of the same sex and some kissed
those of the opposite sex, as the event was not about being gay but
about acceptance, said Sara Sposito, publicity director for the
coalition.

“It’s just a way to get the word out for National
Coming Out Week … showing that a lot of different types of people
are really in support (of us),” she said.

Some students kissed, others exchanged friendly pecks on the
cheek, and some stood on the lawn, holding hands and chatting with
their friends.

Sposito, speaking to members of SCME and students passing on
Bruin Walk, encouraged people to come forward and express affection
to each other in any way they felt comfortable.

“It’s not just kissing. You can hold hands; you can
have your arms wrapped around each other,” Sposito said.

And she asked both gay and straight students to come
forward.

Publicly kissing ““ and drawing attention to the activity
with announcements and romantic music ““ was a very visible
way to demonstrate the similarities between gay and straight
couples, said Edgar Alvarez, a first-year atmospheric sciences
student, as he served lemonade and chatted with friends.

“It’s just a way of showing people that we
don’t care what they think and we can show affection the same
way heterosexual people do,” he said.

Students were mostly reluctant to come forward ““ which is
not surprising, given that their kisses were accompanied by
announcements of “Everybody watch!”

Kissing in such a setting can be nerve-wracking for anyone. For
same-sex couples, it can be even more difficult.

“We know a lot of people aren’t comfortable kissing
in public, especially same-sex couples,” said Tony Quintero,
a third-year political science and history student.

Jose Aguilar, a third-year psychology student who kissed his
friend before a group of onlookers, said there are few places where
he would feel comfortable kissing a member of the same sex so
openly.

“In other places, it’s so limited, and you
can’t usually show affection, especially to another
man,” he said.

Aguilar took the opportunity to step forward in a way that might
have otherwise been uncomfortable.

At first, he said the idea of kissing in public was
“freaky” ““ especially kissing another male
student.

But the experience of opening himself up in a way that is
typically difficult was emotional and rewarding.

“What does euphoria mean? … I think that’s what I
felt,” he said.

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