At the second annual National Coming Out Day Rally, held last month, speakers from Columbia-Barnard and from New York City affirmed their queer identities and called for more queers to bust the hinges off their closets.
This year's rally had two themes: the complexity of coming out and coming out as a political act. Kathy Gomez, co-founder of Queers of Color, described the difficulties that already-marginalized members of American society are subjected to in declaring themselves openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual. LBGC treasurer Jason Klein discussed the dilemma of being gay and Jewish. Maggie Sale, director of Columbia College's Women's Studies program, spoke on the influence of gender in coming out. Sasha Cagen, facilitator of the Bisexual Discussion Group and co-editor of Token magazine, encouraged bisexuals not to be intimidated by our culture's bipolar understanding of sexual orientations and rejoice in their identity.
Coming out in the professional world is also an issue. Mark Burstein, the University's Acting Vice-President of Human Resources, detailed the questions that face queer employees every day and explained: "Many folks see coming out as a political expression, but for me, honestly, it's much more personal. When I come out, I know I don't have a secret I'm hiding. I can be really honest."
NCOD co-founder Rob Eichberg explained the purpose of a special day to celebrate ourselves. "I work to support a vision that by the year 2000 it will be absolutely okay to be lesbian and gay -- and the diversity will be valued and celebrated," he said.
Other speakers included: Eugene Chen, CC '95; Sarah Chinn, a Ph.D. candidate in English and the coordinator of BGLAD; Ann d'Adesky, an alumna of Barnard and the Journalism School; Karl Joseph Ufert, a financial-aid officer; Ann Pellegrini, a visiting professor at Barnard; Kendall Thomas, a Law School professor; Tom Duane, a member of the New York City Council; and Jyll Harris, a school board member.
- Catina R. Alexander, Co-chair, LBGC; CC '95