By: Jasmine Morrow
staffwriter

The Coming Out Monologues can be summed up in one word: powerful. On May 2, The Stonewall Center hosted the Coming Out Monologues in the Pacific Room. The live monologue performances left the audience members in awe.

There were 18 speakers in total who spoke in front of the crowd and told their stories of how they came out or simply how they feel about the LGBTQ+ community. The speakers consisted of students, faculty, alumni and staff of Western. The entrance fee was only $2, and all of the revenue went towards the Safe Zone scholarship and teaching Western students about the LGBTQ+ community.

Before the monologues began, 75 of the LGBTQ+ Western alumni got the chance to meet up at a reception held in the Willamette Room.

The coordinator of the Coming Out Monologues, Western alumni and faculty member, CM Hall, with the help of the Alumni Association, hosted a pre-show reception to celebrate and support show participants, as well as connect and reunite alumni and supporters within the LGBTQ+ community. The alumni and supporters enjoyed appetizers, drinks and had the chance to connect with friends from the past.

The Coming Out Monologues aren’t annual, the Stonewall Center likes surprises. The last time the Coming Out Monologues were performed was in 2015. So, when the event does happen, it isn’t anticipated and people appreciate it more.

Many people who showed up to listen to the speakers’ stories and support them in any way they could. The 18 speakers were incredibly brave, as sharing personal stories to a crowd can be difficult and intimidating.
Their monologues were touching, some drew tears of sadness, while others from laughter. Javan Davis, a Western student, said a line in his monologue that summed up how to help the LGBTQ+ community be more comfortable: “Just support and validate.”

At the end of the last monologue, there was a standing ovation to the whole cast. Noah Seiber, another Western student, said in his monologue, “My identity doesn’t define me, but it does matter.” The line was incredibly powerful and truthful.

Everyone who spoke that night was truthful and brave. Each story was different, just like every person is different. We all have our own experiences and the LGBTQ+ community has been holding events like this on campus in the hopes that the Western community will continue to show support, as well as listen to their show.

Contact the author at jmorrow16@wou.edu