Proverbial closet doors swung open on Tuesday, Oct. 11, in commemoration of the 18th annual National Coming Out Day.

Founded after the 1987 homosexual equality march in Washington, D.C., National Coming Out Day encourages gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GBLT) students to share, or “come out” about, their sexual orientation. According to the Human Rights Campaign, a foundation for homosexual, bisexual and transgender equality, “Coming out and being out is a process that lasts a lifetime.”

As a result, several thousand people nationwide celebrated on Tuesday by revealing their sexual preference, either for the first time or to another person. One Saint Louis University student remarked, “It’s National Coming Out Day – I feel I should let some more people know about my sexuality.”

Founders of National Coming Out Day-notably, Rob Eichberg and Jean O’Leary-realized that the homosexual community tended to react defensively when confronted about sexual orientation. In an attempt to reverse this trend, National Coming Out Day was instituted to support homosexuals and inform the larger community about homosexual issues.

SLU’s Rainbow Alliance, established in 1991 to support GBLT students, responded to the call for activism and awareness with a week of activities. On Monday at 9 p.m., students gathered in the Busch Student Center to share coming out stories. Tuesday, Rainbow Alliance members met with Washington University students for Wash. U.’s campOUT event, making s’mores and again sharing histories. Wednesday included an informational panel with such notable guest speakers as “Blue” M. Jones, as well as members of Pride St. Louis and the St. Louis Community Center.

Today, the Rainbow Alliance is sponsoring a showing of the film Philadelphia in Lee Auditorium at 7 p.m. Released in 1993 and starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, the film follows Hanks’ character Andrew Beckett, a homosexual attorney who struggles with AIDS. When Beckett is fired because of his disease, he hires a homophobic attorney (Washington) to defend him in court.

Events wrap up at SLU with Friday’s “Out & About” trip to the City Museum, with Wash. U. Spectrum Alliance Students.

This year’s theme for National Coming Out Day is “Talk About It.” Recent polls found that a majority of GBLT Americans conceal their sexuality. Only 3 percent have shared their sexual orientation with their doctors, and less than half have “come out” to their bosses. These low figures may be explained by the marked national intolerance of the GBLT community.

In 2003, reports the FBI, a record 16.6 percent of hate crimes were attributed to issues of sexual orientation. The average student, regardless of sexual orientation, hears anti-gay slurs 25.5 times a day. According to statistics from SLU’s Rainbow Alliance, 97 percent of students report hearing anti-gay slurs regularly from their friends.

SLU’s Rainbow Alliance aims to support educational and social activities concerning homosexual, bisexual, and transgender issues. It claims to affirm “the dignity and self-worth of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning students” while simultaneously obliterating discrimination against GBLT members at SLU. Finally, it intends to do so in a way “consistent with Roman Catholic moral teaching on human sexuality.”

Although the exact number of homosexual, bisexual and transgender Americans is indefinite, some studies suggest that the proportion is one in 10. With that estimate, 700 of the 7,000 SLU undergraduates belong to this demographic.

In light of National Coming Out Day, the Rainbow Alliance encourages students of all sexual orientations to garner information about GBLT issues and support GBLT students, both at SLU and nationwide.