“National Coming Out Week is a way for queer people and their allies to declare themselves as such in a statement against heterosexism and other things that render queerness invisible,” said theory friction practice PO ‘12, who is involved with the QRC.

At the event, which took place on National Coming Out Day last Saturday, students made paint handprints on the wall and wrote what they had “come out” as. Some wrote “queer” or “transgender.” At least one person wrote “no longer homophobic,” which QRC employee Silas Berkowitz PO ‘12 said was exceptionally touching and displayed the goal of the program in action.

About 40 5C students attended, as well as a number of high school students from Upland, Fontana, Montclair, and Orange County who attended a workshop afterward. The point of the workshop was to advise high school students in the LGBT community on how to create a safe space and become better equipped to face persecution.

“You don’t necessarily have to be at a liberal arts college to get away from it,” Berkowitz said.

This was the first official QRC-organized painting of Walker Wall since controversies arose at Pomona last spring regarding “Bev Scavvy” participants painting over the QRC’s wall-long Rainbow Flag. Phrases, including some homophobic expressions, were painted on the wall by students participating in “Bev Scavvy,” less than a day after the flag was painted on Walker Wall to spread awareness about upcoming Gaypril events.

According to Berkowitz, though the “Bev Scavvy” incident was an obnoxious disruption and an unfortunate event, it was blown way out of proportion. He said that it’s time for the Claremont community to move past that incident and for the QRC to focus on being a productive venue for community dialogue.

He said National Coming Out Day was about the “queer and allied community coming together to celebrate” and “increasing [the QRC’s] visibility in positive ways.”

This year’s National Coming Out Week also comes against a background of recent news coverage of suicides by homosexual students, the current battles over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military, and the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage in California.