When John Herbst told his friends and family he is gay, it wasn't easy. He knew he was gay, but he didn't quite know how to tell everyone, he said.

"It was bubbling up inside me," he said. "It was something that people who were close to me needed to know, and it was the right time."

He was a freshman in high school and had told his father before anyone else that he was gay.

"My mom has always been fully accepting," Herbst said. "My dad and younger sister were tolerant and now, they are fully accepting and love me like always."

Herbst, an international relations and French junior, has been openly gay for more than five years.

"Most of my friends said they already knew," he said. "The ones that didn't know, they were fine with it."

Students who are coming out have many concerns regarding acceptance and facing their families, said Brent Bilodeau, director of the MSU Office of LBGT Concerns.

Herbst said he came out to his friends by displaying a gay pride flag on the inside of his high school locker.

"There were people who knew what it meant and asked if I was gay," Herbst said. "I said 'yes' and once a few people had asked, then it was pretty much known."

The process of coming out begins when the person identifies that they are attracted to the same sex, Herbst said.

"Looking back, I can see that I was attracted to guys all along," he said. "There was a point where I realized I was sexually attracted to guys and not women, and I realized that I was gay."

MSU has a growing population of LBGT or lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender students, Bilodeau said.

"We certainly have an increasing number of students who arrive at MSU out and open about who they are and are immediately looking for support on campus," he said.

The Office of LBGT Concerns' purpose is to lead and collaborate on initiatives that affirm the LBGT community on campus, Bilodeau said.

"We assist LBGT students in addressing personal concerns," Bilodeau said. "We place a high value on LBGT student communities."

The LBGT community on campus holds many events in which students can celebrate their identities. These days are called National Coming Out Days, or NCOD. However, the official National Coming Out Day is observed on Oct. 11 and commemorates the 1987 march in Washington for LBGT equality. These days are also opportunities for those who are not open about their sexual preferences to come out.

Herbst said he met one girl during his Study Abroad trip who shared her story about coming out.

"She came out to her parents, and they kicked her out of her house," Herbst said. "So she has been on her own ever since. That's the biggest fear for somebody who is gay — 'are my parents going to disown me?' That was my biggest fear."

Students who are coming out face other fears such as harassment, Bilodeau said.

"The reality is this; In this culture in the United States, LBGT identities are still highly stigmatized," he said. "So the risks of discrimination and harassment are still very real for this population."

However, this week's NCOD are creating a safe environment for LBGT students to come out in, Bilodeau said.

NCOD is being celebrated by several groups on campus such as Spectrum and PRISM, which are registered student groups. A barbecue kicked off the NCOD events on Saturday. Students gathered at the rock on Farm Lane and relaxed, said Lauron Kehrer, a flute performance junior.

"The barbecue to me is a chance to celebrate and enjoy the progress the LBGT community has made on campus," Kehrer said. "I think about 20 to 25 years ago, having a barbecue out in the open advertised as a queer event could have been a possibly dangerous situation."

Events that celebrate the LBGT identity will continue to be held on campus until Friday. All of the events are free and open to the public.

"NCOD also encourage individuals to be honest with themselves and others about who they are and their identities, and encourages all of us to create safe environments for LBGT individuals," Bilodeau s aid.