Sixteen years ago, members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community organized the largest march on Washington at that time.

"It was the first time in our history that there was that kind of visibility action," said Brent Bilodeau, assistant for LBGT Concerns at MSU.

The legacy of the march has continued since 1987 through National Coming Out Days, which is celebrated at MSY nationally on Sunday.

National Coming Out Day began to recognize and celebrate the lives of LBGT people. In recent years, it expanded to include a full week of events.

This year, participants in National Coming Out Days aim to address LBGT issues across backgrounds and experiences.

"The greatest change in Coming Out Days is that the LBGT community is embracing a multicultural, multi-oppression framework for approaching LBGT issues," Bilodeau said.

Jon Hoadley, social relations and women's studies sophomore, agreed.

"We're really focusing on an aspect of the queer community that we often forget - people of color and internationals," he said. "The experience is so different from the mainstreamed, white-washed version you see on TV, and we have to remember that."

A vigil service on Wednesday night will honor people of color, people from different countries and Newark, N.J., teenager Sakia Gunn, who was killed when two men propositioned her and then discovered she was a lesbian.

"We just want people to be open-minded and aware that there are different people on campus," said LaJoya Johnson, an interdisciplinary studies in health studies junior.

Bilodeau said there have not been violent reactions to the week of events in recent memory.

"In the last two or three years, they have been highly supported from many spheres of the MSU community," he said.

Bilodeau estimates that between 7 and 10 percent of MSU's population is LBGT, although some might not feel comfortable openly admitting it.

The Speak Out during last year's Coming Out Days was one of the first activism experiences women's studies junior Stacy Meitzner felt comfortable participating in.

"For people who are so apathetic toward other issues, it exposes them to a great deal of different -isms in our society," she said. "It's a great opportunity visibility-wise for LBGT issues."

During the Act Out, as the event is called this year, students stand at locations across campus, portraying victims of hate crimes. Participants wear black clothing with race, gender, class, sexual-orientation, gender identity and disability slurs such as "that's so gay" or "dyke" on them.

"Last year, I was really nervous about doing it, but it gave me a real sense of empowerment," Hoadley said.

But it's the discussions planned for next week that social work senior Melinda Haus is most excited about.

"One of the biggest barriers in understanding is education," she said. "People coming forward and learning is one of the many steps that needs to be taken."

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