The first National Coming Out Day started Oct. 11, 1988, and since then, Iowa State has extended the celebration to a week.

A rally at the Campanile today at noon will kick off ISU’s week-long celebration.

The unveiling of the Safe Zone project stickers by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Student Services and the introduction of a scholarship for gay and lesbian advocates are highlights of the rally.

Jason Gross, vice president of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally Alliance and Coming Out Week coordinator, said he began doing initial planning for the celebration last April by looking for keynote speakers.

Finishing touches, however, were not made until August.

The first National Coming Out Day was established in 1988 to celebrate the Oct. 11, 1987, march on Washington for gay and lesbian rights.

Gross said the Safe Zone project has been a collaborative effort for more than a year and has involved many students at ISU.

But six months ago, he said, the project got a jump start from Houston Dougharty, associate dean of students.

“He’s really taken it under his wing these past six months,” Gross said.

“He adjusted the budget and applied for funding until we received it,” he said.

Gross said Dougharty will send out 10,000 letters to faculty and staff informing them about the project and asking them to put a Safe Zone sticker on their office door or window.

By displaying the sticker, faculty and staff are saying they support lesbian and gay faculty, staff and students.

“It’s basically an attempt to raise visibility,” Gross said.

The introduction of the Scott Rohlf Presidential Leadership Initiative Award for students who have demonstrated involvement and leadership in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community will also be a major highlight at the rally this afternoon.

Gross said the scholarship will be presented annually.

He also said Thursday, when keynote speaker Sabrina Sojourner speaks, will be a big day.

Sojourner, who is the first openly lesbian woman elected to the U.S. Congress, will discuss being lesbian from an African-American perspective.

Sojourner will speak at 8 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Gross said speaker Deirdre McCloskey is another highlighted speaker for the week. McCloskey is a professor of economics and history at the University of Iowa who recently underwent a sex change. She will discuss “Out Coming In Thinking: Thoughts of a Novice Woman.”

LGBTAA will recognize four outstanding advocates of gay and lesbian rights at the First Annual Alliance Recognition Dinner on Monday, Oct. 13.

Susan Vega Garcia, Parks Library associate professor; Meron Wondwosen, president of the Black Student Alliance; Susan Franzen, Ames resident and advocate; and Jeanine Bessette, ISU faculty member, will be recognized for their efforts from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Pioneer Room of the Memorial Union.