By Celena Glaghassi, Contributing Writer
On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, in collaboration with Gettysburg Pride and the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life, hosted a celebration for National Coming Out Day. The event took place from 4–6 p.m. on the north lawn outside of Pennsylvania Hall.
The event featured community organizations, college clubs and performances from drag queens. For the first hour of the celebration, people were encouraged to walk around to different tables and interact with the people and groups present. Among the local organizations in attendance were Family First, a children’s welfare initiative and YWCA Safe Home, a domestic violence support program. Waldo’s & Company, a local coffee shop, also had a table and gave out free hot coffee to everyone, a kind gesture to help combat the cold day.
“It’s just an incredible celebration of people who are being themselves. We love them, we appreciate them for being themselves and for coming out,” said Sema ’27.
The Office of Student Activities and Greek Life (OSAGL) had a “build-your-own teddy bear” station, where people could decorate clothes for their teddy bears. Also present at the event were the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, Guided Pathways, the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center and the Office of Multicultural Engagement.
“I love any opportunity to meet more students and stay engaged with them,” said Cara Smith, a Guided Pathways co-curricular advisor, highlighting her favorite part of the event.
At 5 p.m., three local drag queens, Alizee LaDiamond, Ariana Autumn and Amethyst Diamond performed at the event. Following the performances, they hosted a Q&A, giving people the opportunity to ask them questions about their lives and experiences as drag queens.
The celebration marked the 4th annual recurrence of the event. Dylann, a senior at Gettysburg College, described the event by sharing the story of how they felt the first time they attended the celebration.
“The first time I came here (the Coming Out Day celebration)—the first year they did this whole thing—it was the first time I could be openly queer, and it was an amazing feeling to be celebrated. So I’m really glad Gettysburg does this.”
