Disco, Stickers For Gay Rights

Nearly 500 Adams House students donned pink triangle-shaped stickers and danced to disco and K.D. Lang yesterday in the first house dinner for National Coming Out Day.

Adams House master Robert Kiely said yesterday that hosting the gay, lesbian and bisexual celebration was in keeping with the house's reputation for tolerance.

"Adams House has traditionally been a very open and welcoming community for non-traditional groups," he said.

Kiely said the dinner did not cater to a specific group of students.

"This event is meant for everybody," Kiely said. "I would compare it with celebrations or dinners that celebrate various other forms of diversity, such as the Chinese New Year or Cinco de Mayo."

He said the event was suggested by two of the house's tutors for gay, lesbian and bisexual issues, Carla Mazzio and Carsey Yee.

Mazzio, who is the assistant senior tutor, said yesterday she was pleased by the house's decision to celebrate the occasion with a dinner.

"As far as I know, there hasn't been a house-based dinner in honor of National Coming Out Day before, and I felt it was about time," she said.

Members of Harvard's Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Student Alliance (BGLSA), who distributed informational handouts at each of the dining halls last night, described the event's purpose and its historical significance to members of the homosexual community.

"The purpose of Coming Out Day is to celebrate and encourage people to come out and be proud of themselves if they are bisexual, gay or lesbian," said BGLSA President Royce Lin '96.

"At the same time it is a chance for everyone, whether gay or straight, to take up the fight for equality and respect for human diversity," he added.

Other BGLSA members said they had similar goals for the event.

"I feel like Harvard is one of the most incredibly apolitical atmospheres despite the fact that it's very intellectual," said BGLSA co-chair Moon Duchim '97. "We're trying to breathe new life into the politics of the queer issue; we are making an effort to be proactive rather than reactive in our politics."