New Mexico State University’s LGBT+ Programs will celebrate LGBT History Month with several events and activities throughout October.
LGBT+ Programs hosts OUTober each year to bring LGBTQ community members and their allies together for fun and educational activities.
“LGBT+ Programs is celebrating the most student traffic we have ever seen,” LGBT+ Programs Director Zooey Sophia Pook said. “Our clubs – AgGays, Gender Diverse Aggies and Gay Anime Club – are hosting as many as 50 students each week, and our office is filled with excited students each day. We are also very excited now to host Students for Asian and Pacific Islander Student Support, as well as Students for Reproductive Rights. Our students have diverse backgrounds, and our programming reflects that. We want to address the intersectional barriers our students face and to help create a culture where all Aggies can feel included and be successful.”
This year’s festivities will kick off Saturday, Oct. 1, with Pride on the Plaza in downtown Las Cruces. LGBT+ Programs will be one of 50 organizations and vendors at the Plaza de Las Cruces from 5 to 10 p.m. The free family-friendly event will also feature live entertainment, activities for children, food trucks and a parade that begins at 4:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, Oct. 11, LGBT+ Programs will celebrate National Coming Out Day. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., LGBT+ Programs will have a table set up outside Corbett Center Student Union on the International Mall, where students can participate in an exercise exploring LGBTQ pride and what coming out means. Students can also learn more about LGBT+ Programs.
Later that evening, LGBT+ Programs will host a Coming Out Day event at 6:30 p.m. at the climbing wall inside the Activity Center on the Las Cruces campus.
On Thursday, Oct. 20, LGBT+ Programs, in collaboration with Gender Diverse Aggies and Students for Asian and Pacific Islander Student Support, will host a Lego Night at 6:30 p.m. in the LGBT+ Programs office in Corbett Center Student Union, Room 204a.
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, LGBT+ Programs will host its OUTober Drag Show, co-sponsored by NMSU Chicano Programs and AgGays. ViLette Stratton will host the event, starting at 7 p.m. on the Corbett Center Student Union outdoor stage. Cosplay performer Harlee qylc will be the show’s special guest. Trey Michaels and Kalorie Karbdashian, a contestant on Season 10 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” are also set to perform alongside several student performers.
“The OUTober Drag Show has quickly become one of the most anticipated events each year, with amazing national, state and local talent,” Pook said. “This year, we have the highest number of student performers scheduled to perform that we’ve ever had, and I could not be happier that this event has become such an important space for young LGBT+ performers to find their voice.”
The first 35 attendees at the drag show will receive a free limited-edition T-shirt featuring an original design by an NMSU student or alum. Students and alumni interested in submitting artwork for consideration can do so by emailing lgbt@nmsu.edu for more information. The winner will receive a backstage pass to the drag show. The deadline to submit art is Friday, Sept. 30.
OUTober will conclude Wednesday, Oct. 26, with free, rapid and confidential HIV testing between noon and 2 p.m. in partnership with Alianza of New Mexico. Testing is available to all NMSU students, faculty and staff. Those interested in getting tested should check in at the LGBT+ Programs office in Corbett Center Student Union, Room 204a.
Later that evening, LGBT+ Programs and the NMSU Gay Anime Club will host Cosplay Night at 7 p.m. in the Corbett Center Student Union ballrooms. Harlee qylc will host the event.
All OUTober events are free and open to all undergraduate and graduate NMSU students. Pride on the Plaza and the OUTober Drag Show are open to all Aggies and the public. For more information about the events, follow @nmsu_lgbt on Instagram.