Kamya Bates gently placed the heart-shaped sticky note on a white door in front of the Reitz Union Thursday morning.
“Loving girls and boys is okay,” it read.
The 19-year-old UF marine sciences freshman patted the heart to make sure it stuck.
“I needed to hear that when I was going through the process of figuring out if I liked girls or guys,” Bates said.
Over 170 people visited the Reitz Programming Board’s second annual National Coming Out Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Reitz Union breezeway. Students made bath bombs, stuck notes on a door and ate rainbow sugar cookies, said Tori Chin, a co-director of the RPB Special Events Committee.
The door is a play on the phrase “coming out of the closet,” Chin said. The event cost $381 and was funded by the Activity and Service Fee.
“Just knowing that it could affect at least one or two people and knowing that it could make their day or make them feel more included — that’s good enough for us,” she said.
Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox
Billy Huff, the director of LGBTQ Affairs at UF, said National Coming Out Day can be vexing for gay and transgender people.
“We have to come out all the time,” Huff said.
Mel Soto, a 19-year-old UF chemistry freshman and transgender man who identifies as pansexual, and Tori Brundage, a 19-year-old UF anthropology freshman, made sweet orange and lavender bath bombs.
Brundage, who identifies as non-binary and queer, said they plan to celebrate by being proud of who they are.
“If you’re really living life as who you are, you will find people that care about you and see you,” Soto said.
Kamya Bates, a 19-year-old UF marine science freshman, places a sticky note on a door in front of the Reitz Union during a National Coming Out Day celebration.
Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.
