With temporary tattoos scattered across wooden tables, Chappell Roan’s voice blasting from speakers and Jolly Rancher candies glistening in the courtyard during lunch Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance hosted a lunchtime celebration to honor National Coming Out Day.
National Coming Out Day, which has existed for 37 years, took place Saturday, Oct. 11, this year. GSA Executive Board members organized the event and brought items such as bracelets and candy in order to make the celebration engaging for students. A main part of the event was a poster where students could write or draw their favorite queer icons, rainbow drawings, or questions. GSA Executive Board Member Max Speck (’26) said that after the event, the poster will hopefully go up in one of the GSA advisor’s classrooms.
Speck was involved in the planning of the Coming Out Day event. He said he was grateful for this event because it raised awareness for the LGBTQ+ community within Archer.
“I think just bringing awareness to the whole school that we exist definitely helps more people see us then at the Club Fair, where we’re just one booth in a crowd of 40,” Speck said. “I think having us directly in the courtyard for this event definitely brings in more people who aren’t queer as well.”
GSA welcomes all students to join, whether or not they are part of the LGBTQ+ community. GSA meets every other Tuesday, and club member Juliet Lukas (‘27) said she is grateful for the environment that the club fosters.
“At first, I didn’t really know my sexuality,” Lukas said, “so I just wanted to see what GSA was, and I think I found a really great community to help me be more comfortable.”
Speck also said the GSA Executive Board meets regularly aside from the club to plan events such as the Coming Out Day Celebration. Speck said that to him, the purpose of GSA is to welcome membership from a variety of sexualities.
“We are dedicated to making sure that queer people have a comfortable space at Archer, and they know that they’re not alone,” Speck said. “Our club is welcome to anyone, regardless of sexuality.”
During regular club meetings, Lukas said members learn about the different types of sexualities and queer history. Fitness and Wellness teacher Natalie Coleman is one of the GSA faculty advisers alongside math teacher Leila Chakravarty. Coleman became the GSA faculty adviser after returning to school following the COVID-19 pandemic and said the club has grown immensely since then. She also said she is grateful to see the increase in attendance of allies.
“Having allyship come to our meetings, and they’re like ‘I don’t identify as anything except straight’ [or ] ‘I’m just here to be an ally for my friend,’” Coleman said. “In the past, we’ve never had allies just come to the meeting, just to hang out and learn about LGBTQ+.”
Coleman said her intent for the first event was to bring everyone together. After the celebration, the poster remained in the courtyard for the rest of the day.
“Usually [this] initial event that we do [is used] to start the year off, and it’s just a way to bring everyone together — middle school, upper school, allies [and] those that identify within [the] LGBTQ+ umbrella,” Coleman said. “We just want everyone to feel welcomed right at the beginning.”
