Iowa State’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Alliance has an array of activities planned for National Coming Out Days, which runs today through Friday.

Activities kick off today, the National Coming Out Day, with a rally on central campus, north of the Campanile, from noon to 1:30 p.m. There will also be a concert from 9 p.m. to midnight this evening at the Maintenance Shop, featuring Pansy Division, an all-gay rock band from San Francisco.

LGBTAA leaders say the purpose of the weeklong event is to educate students about the student organization and make them aware of its mission and purpose.

“We really try to make this a week for everyone,” said Levi Richardson, LGBTAA projects coordinator. “For example, Tuesday is totally for straight people, with activities designed for allies of the LGBT community. Anyone who is supportive should be involved.”

Richardson, sophomore in computer engineering, said a core of about five LGBTAA members have worked to plan National Coming Out Days at ISU, along with several committees that oversaw the planning of specific activities, such as Friday night’s dance in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union from 8 p.m. to midnight.

“We’ve been planning constantly for about nine weeks now,” he said. “We wanted a week that shows we know how to have fun and be a vital part of ISU culture.”

Sarah Schweitzer, LGBTAA president, said while planning activities gets more hectic as the week draws closer, it takes an entire year to make the event work.

“There’s a lot of stuff involved with reserving space for activities and such that makes a year-round planing cycle necessary,” said Schweitzer, sophomore in history. “We work on this hard and focus on it as our big event of the year.”

LGBTAA officials expect a solid turn-out for today’s rally and hope that attendance is strong all week.

“We had a lower turnout than we’d hoped for last year,” she said. “The weather was kind of rainy, though, and we think that attendance will be stronger this year. Hopefully, everyone will show their support and check out what we’ve got planned.”

Other activities scheduled include a presentation about battling homophobia in the residence halls on Thursday and Friday’s “Aqueerium,” a demonstration designed to show students that homosexuals lead lives no different from straight people.

“‘Aqueerium’ is going to be set up like a circus sideshow, with signs that will say something like ‘Step right up to see queers and homosexuals,'” Richardson said. “But what visitors will see is people doing typical activities like their homework or laundry.”

National Coming Out Days will conclude with a viewing of gay-themed movies on Saturday night at the Sloss House at a time yet to be determined.