Today marks the start of National Coming Out Week, and the Penn State LGTBA Student Resource Center has organized a number of events to celebrate, including a safe-sex workshop and a celebrity guest speaker.

National Coming Out Week is a week-long celebration leading up to National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. This year’s theme, with a nod to Homecoming, is: “Honor the purpose, come out with pride.” The day celebrates those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender and raises awareness for the LGBTA community.

Here’s the list of upcoming events this week:

Monday, Oct. 6

• Penn State LGBTA kicks off the celebration by taking over the HUB at 10 a.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 7

• A Straight Talk Panel will be held in HUB 129 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Straight Talks are run by a panel of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender students, and they aim to educate the community about LGBT culture.

Wednesday, Oct. 8

• Rally on Old Main Lawn from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
• Actress Laverne Cox will speak at the HUB’s Freeman Auditorium at 7 p.m. A question-and-answer session that is open to all students will follow the lecture. Cox, who stars on the hit Netflix Original Series “Orange is the New Black,” was the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for an Emmy Award.

Thursday, Oct. 9

• Student organization OUT & Allies in Business, a group of Smeal students that aims to promote diversity and inclusiveness in the business world, will hold a Career & Networking Event with several companies in the Smeal Atrium from 11 am to 2:30 pm.
• A “What’s the Q & A” discussion will be held at the LGBTA Student Resource Center from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 10

• The LGBTA Resource Center will host a Safer Sex Workshop from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Entrance to the events is on a first-come, first-served basis.

About the Author

Sarah Caskie

Sarah is a senior majoring in Journalism. She can usually be found at Saint’s looking up cat videos, or writing about music and stuff. She can be reached on Twitter at @classycaskie or via email at sarahcaskie@onwardstate.com.

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