In a crowded auditorium, students, alumni and visiting participants were given the chance to tell their “coming out” stories.

Kyle Sabin shares his own story of coming out with the packed auditorium at PRISM’s Coming Out Monologues. (Abby Hocking / Photo Assistant)

In honor of Queer Awareness Month and National Coming Out Day, which takes place on Oct. 11, students came together to participate in the sixth year of a narrative tradition at the College that provides a unique forum for  lesbian, gay, bisexual  and transgender students and their straight allies to share their experiences coming out to their friends, family, and society, with their peers.

Adorning a rainbow armband, Jacqui Pastore, sophomore music major and PRISM’s chair of National Coming Out Day and National Day of Silence, discussed the process of coming out, not as a one-time occurrence, but as something that individuals must confront every single day.

“You have to come out every single day for the rest of your lives, and each time it’s a bit different. Welcome to the closet door,” Pastore said.

The event, which was sponsored by PRISM, began after all the seats were filled. By the time the first of the eight planned monologues started, students were lining the walls.

Many of the audience members wore pins, arm bands, and shirts displaying the rainbow flag to signify their support.

The first planned monologue was delivered by Juls Bergman, an alumni, who shared her experiences working as a teacher in New Jersey in an environment where she was unsure whether her staff would be accepting of her sexuality.

Juls Bergman, an alumna at the College tells their coming out stories to students, alumni and staff in the Library Auditorium. (Abby Hocking / Photo Assistant)

Seated in a green corduroy chair flanked on either side by lawn chairs draped with rainbow flags, Bergman recalled coming out to her colleagues one night at Katmandu.

“Chris was talking about his wife and Elaine was talking about her husband and all the staff were talking about relationships nonchalantly. I brought up my girlfriend, and they had no problem with it and I was so happy,” Bergman said. “If you want to be a teacher and be out, know your resources.”

Jacqui Lehman, president of the Gay Straight Alliance at Rider University, shared her experiences coming out to her parents and herself for the first time.

“I came out to my parents very early, it was the summer after freshman year of high school,” Lehman said. “I was trying to figure out what was going on and I knew something was going on but didn’t want know what was different.”

“I’m so lucky to have what I have, my family accepts me for who I am. Take that chance. It’s the most amazing thing you’ll ever witness, being able to have that courage to tell the people that you trust and love,” Lehman said.

Kelly Powell, senior women and gender studies major, recalled with humor her experiences discovering her sexuality and coming out to friends and family.

“People always ask me, ‘When did you know you were gay?’ And I tell them I should have known at the age of three when I had a crush on Ariel from ‘the Little Mermaid,’” Powell said. “I think the thing everyone needs to keep in mind is no matter how comfortable you are, you have to be aware that coming out is every single day. You have to think, do you hold hands walking in the city, suburbs, wherever you are.”

Each of the eight narratives varied significantly. Some students shared humorous anecdotes, while for others the process was much more trying.

Following the scheduled narratives, there was an open floor where attendees took turns sharing their own experiences.

“It was great, just the fact that everyone felt so comfortable with the public to say what they have to say,” said Otasha Clark, sophomore political science major.

“I thought it was really good, I didn’t really expect it be so personal. The stories were really touching. Everyone’s experience was really different. Even if you can’t identify you can connect on a personal level,” said Jared Turner, senior mathematics major.