Out on Britton is held annually to celebrate National Coming Out Day, which is observed on October 11 to mark the anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, with this year being the 37th anniversary of the march, and the 36th year National Coming Out Day has been celebrated.
The first Out on Britton at Dickinson had only twenty atendees, but has become a much larger event since then. Throughout the College’s history, Britton Plaza has been a popular protest spot, with LGBTQ students gathering on it in 1998 to protest the spread of homophobic posters, and other students gathering to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 2012.
According to Tommy Lee, the director of the LGBTQ Center on campus, 35 different groups participated in this year’s event. These clubs and organizations included ADS, the Waidner-Spahr Library, the Center for Spirituality and Social Justice, Center for Sustainability Education (CSE) and many more. Most of the organizations had pride-themed merchandise available, as well as activities relating to pride or pride trivia.
Many organizations also showed their involvement with Dickinson’s LGBTQ history, while the library brought a collection of LGBTQ books to display. Silas Deyesu ’28 said that he “enjoyed all the activities and crafts,” and that the event was “cooler that [he] thought it’d be.”
The organizers for the event, as well as the organizations taking part, decked Britton Plaza out in pride colors, and erected a symbolic closet door in the middle of the plaza in honor of National Coming Out Day. As well as the rainbow decorations, there was also a live student band, Bongwater, which played during the event.
When asked what the significance of Out on Britton is, Lee said that “[we] are fortunate it’s a tradition,” going on to say that there are many places around the country where this just could not happen. He also said that it is a “good indicator for the school,” as it shows students how accepting Dickinson is surrounding the LGBTQ community, and how far the College has come since its past.
