Coming Out Week at CEU

Last week, CEU students might have spotted a few additions to spaces across campus as faculty and staff showed their support for the LGBTIAQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, A-sexual and Queer) community and promoting a welcoming environment for every student – no exclusions. The Coming Out Week initiative was organized by HRSI (Human Rights Initiative) and the Sustainability team, with events organised and staffed by student volunteers. Here are a few of the highlights!

Well-known for its general dreariness, the odd smoker and lack of anything remotely Japanese, this week the Japanese Garden played host to a small, but lively group of individuals committed to adding even more colour to the local CEU landscape. Sipping tea and slapping paint over the worn wood of a few of the outdoor tables, a rainbow eventually took its shape.

Back inside the corridors of campus, a Glitter Corner and a Coming Out as An Ally Photo-shoot encouraged students to have some fun with their image, to show solidarity with the LGBTIAQ Community and to think about the issues confronting the Community today and how these might be approached positively.

Students also had the opportunity to watch documentary film "Southern Comfort", about Robert Eads, atrans man dying from ovarian cancer. A representative and activist from Hungary’s Non-Profit Organisation TransVanilla was invited to participate in the discussion following the screening.

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual civil awareness day internationally observed on October 11. The events of Coming Out Week at CEU provided all of us with the opportunity to reflect on – and celebrate – both what makes us different and what unites us. 

	If you’re interested in learning more about, download your copy of the ‘Coming Out Week’ Dictionary here: https://hrsi.ceu.hu/news/2014-10-06/coming-out-dictionary

Imogen Bayley

History, New-Zealand