Students were invited to mark event by passing through doorway

Wednesday marked National Coming Out Day, and Oregon State University gave gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and supporters the opportunity to come out of the closet - literally and figuratively.

Student groups in support of gay students, including Sol and the Rainbow Continuum, along with the campus Pride Center, propped a freestanding doorway in the middle of the Memorial Union Quad.

People could pass through the door or write encouraging messages on it.

"It's a physical way for people to show their support," according to Jerred Taylor, a fifth-year student majoring in bio-engineering.

"The whole process of coming out takes time," he added, noting that people come out as gay to themselves, their parents and their friends and not always simultaneously.

"I don't think you ever really stop coming out. I feel like I come out to people every day. It just sort of happens, so it's not as big a deal for me anymore," said Luke Sugie, a graduate student in applied ethics.

When Sugie first identified himself as queer, he was afraid of how other people would react. Even though he's been out of the proverbial closet for some time, he still took the opportunity Wednesday to "pop out" again.

Coming Out Day commemorates Oct. 11, 1987, when 500,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., for gay and lesbian equality. National Coming Out Day events are aimed at raising awareness of the LGBT community and civil rights movement.

In the past, OSU celebrated this day every year by putting up a closet door. About five years ago, that tradition stopped. Members of Rainbow Continuum and other gay student groups recently found the door in Snell Hall, and decided to resurrect the tradition, Taylor said.

Jeanna Ramos, a junior majoring in business and external coordinator for Sol, an LGBT support network for people of color, was happy to see the door displayed visibly in the heart of campus again.

"It symbolizes the fact that coming out is a process, and it's a scary door to open; to know exactly who you are and to be able to make that transition and live with who you actually are and who you want to be," she said.

Ramos had a hard time coming out to her family, so she thinks it's important that OSU offer assistance during that process.

Although OSU is "pretty supportive" of the gay community, Ramos said there's still room for improvement.

"It's hard to interact with people who are closed-minded. That's why we're out here today, to let people know they can come talk to us. We're just normal, everyday students. We're here to learn and want to be treated equally," Ramos said.

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.