LGBTQ+ Center celebrates Coming Out Week by offering events, educational programming
Salve Regina’s LGBTQ+ Center opened during the 2021-22 academic year as a physical space for LGBTQ+ students and their allies to foster community. The hiring of Emily Haggett, student engagement and LGBTQ+ resource coordinator, for the LGBTQ+ Center in the summer of 2022 has also helped to spur on existing efforts to create campus events and educational opportunities to celebrate Salve Regina’s mercy mission through its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
With this in mind, the LGBTQ+ Center is celebrating its first official Coming Out Week and offering a variety of events to honor National Coming Out Day, which is on Tuesday, Oct. 11.
“I am really excited to finally have events like Coming Out Week,” said Haggett. “We’ve been planning this for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to feel celebrated, seen and heard for who they truly are. All of this programming will also help people who want to become allies to educate themselves around these topics through safe spaces that are welcoming to all.”
Below is a list of Coming Out Week events.
Tuesday, Oct. 11
National Coming Out Day Celebration
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 3-5 p.m.
Gerety Hall lawn
The National Coming Out Day Celebration will be a kick off event for the rest of Coming Out Week. Different activities that highlight acceptance will be offered that are coordinated by Alliance, the University’s LGBTQ+ student organization. There will be activities like lawn games, and Atomic Blonde Ice Cream, an LGBTQ+ owned food truck, will offer desert. Newport Out, a local LBGTQ+ organization, will also have a table to connect the University with local resources.
Wednesday, Oct. 12
Wear Your Flag Proudly: Rainbow Table Talk
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 4-5 p.m.
Gerety Hall, Room 103
The LGBTQ+ Center has been offering Rainbow Table Talk all semester, which is a weekly hour where the center meets with students and allies to talk about various LGBTQ+ topics in a safe space. For Coming Out Week, the topic will be around accepting and being true to oneself and one’s own identities.
LGBTQ+ Trivia Night
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 8-10 p.m.
Gerety Hall
Join weekly Trivia Night for an LGBTQ+ themed evening.
Thursday, Oct. 13
Open to All Safe Zone Training
Thursday, Oct. 13, 2-4 p.m.
Gerety Hall, Room 103
The LGBTQ+ Center offers Safe Zone Trainings to departments and offices across campus, which are a way for larger groups of people to begin learning about LGBTQ+ issues and how to be a safe resource for this community. Usually, this is scheduled through the LGBTQ+ Center for departments or offices. However, on Thursday, Oct. 13, the center will offer a Safe Zone Training for any individual on campus who is interested in attending — staff, faculty or students.
Salve Regina University students celebrate National Coming Out Day on Gerety Lawn with ice cream and activities.
Friday, Oct. 14
Born This Way Coffeehouse
Friday, Oct. 14, 6-8 p.m.
Gerety Hall, Room 102
Baila Conmigo
Friday, Oct. 14, 8-10 p.m.
Gerety Hall, Room 102
Friday will be a big send-off for Coming Out Week. There will be a coffee house from 6-8 p.m. followed by a dance party called Baila Conmigo, which is a collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Programs and Retention, the Hispanic and Latinx Student Organization, and the Spanish Club to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. This collaboration acknowledges the intersectionality of marginalized minority communities, while also celebrating diversity in all its forms.
For further information on any of these events, please contact Emily Haggett at emily.haggett@salve.edu. All events are open to the Salve Regina community, and there is no need for registration.
