Damien was 18 years old when he told his mother that he was gay. It was his last night he spent in his house.

When Patty Thompson, a representative from Parents, Family, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, met Damien while attending a support group meeting for her own homosexual son, he was living by himself and hadn't celebrated a birthday or Christmas in 10 years.

"I said, 'we'll adopt you!'" Thompson told the crowd at UD's first National Coming Out Day Thursday, hosted by the University of Dayton Student Allies.

Over 40 students, faculty and advisors marched through the south student neighborhood and ended at a celebration in the ArtStreet Amphitheatre

to build awareness and support for everyone who has stories similar to Damien's.

"Every time you come out you say, yes, I am different, just like you, and I'm proud of it," Laura Graving, co-president of Student Allies, said in the opening speech. "Coming out isn't easy but each time you do...life gets a little bit easier, a little better."

Students shared their personal coming out stories and expressed the challenges they faced as well as their relief once they came out.

"Students who identify as [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender] sometimes have trouble expressing themselves because of the Catholic environment, which can lead to internal conflicts," Joe Sell, co-president of Student Allies, said. "I think that's one of the reasons why we are recognizing National Coming Out Day as a day where students who are 'out' and open about their sexuality can speak out and be proud of who they are, so that students can perhaps also feel like UD is a safe environment to be themselves."

Thompson's organization also offered its support. PFLAG began in 1972 and now includes 500 chapters in every state, Canada, Mexico and 9 other countries. Dayton is one of the largest and most active chapters in the organization, they said.

"This event represents growth of our group as a whole," junior Andrea Zipprich, a member of Student Allies,said. "It also represents National Coming Out Day well because the speakers showed how everyone who has ever come out has a different story to tell, and National Coming Out Day is just to celebrate the process of coming out and how complex it actually is because of society's pull on people to conform and be like everyone else. It is hard to be different let alone let the whole world know you are different in some way."

The event ended with a candle-lit prayer for openness and acceptance. Afterwards, a discussion was held at ArtStreet Studio C for participants to share their responses to the event.

Student Allies, in its eighth year on campus, has the goal of building community with LGBT students as well as straight allies.

Zipprich said the group has changed since her freshman year.

"When I came here freshman year the group had almost no people and was all talk, no action," she said. "I would have never guessed Student Allies would ever be able to pull something as big as our NCOD celebration off."

This year, the organization will also be hosting the orange T-shirt campaign, "Gay? I'm cool with that," in which T-shirts will be given out on campus to show support for LGBT individuals.

"I feel that UD students are not initially aware that there is a gay-straight alliance on campus," Bell said. "I believe, however, that UD students are, for the most part, open to our group and its programs, as we see every year with the wide-spread involvement in the orange T-shirt campaign."

It is important to remember that this organization is not just for LGBT students, but also for straight students to show support for them, said Grace Crivello.

"I think this organization is a really

great way for people to understand and to create a more inclusive community here at UD," Crivello said. "Even though UD is a really liberal campus and I have never felt threatened or like I didn't belong, I think that we can still work to include more people."

Student Allies meetings are held every Tuesday evening at 7:15 p.m. in Alumni Hall Room 211 and all students and faculty are welcome to attend regardless of their sexual orientation.

"Being with Student Allies and leading an event like this has helped me to become more comfortable with who I am and I hope that other people will feel the same way," Bell said. "Coming out is a difficult process; it's very emotionally draining, and it's hard not knowing how someone will react when they find out. I hope that other students will be able to find the strength and confidence to be themselves, no matter what people think."