Coming Out Day, a celebration to unite lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and bring awareness to issues regarding gay rights.

The college will host several events during the next week to celebrate the day. Ritch Savin-Williams, professor of psychology and department chair of Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, will speak tonight in Textor 101. Savin-Williams, who has also served as a consultant for MTV and CNN, will discuss his new book, “The New Gay Teenager.”

On Tuesday, prism will host a celebration and rally at the Free Speech Rock.

Senior Michael Miller, co-president of Created Equal, a political organization that addresses LGBT issues through demonstrations on campus, said National Coming Out Day is a chance to bring attention to LGBT issues.

Sophomore Emily Hobkirk, co-president of prism, said National Coming Out Day is intended to raise awareness. National Coming Out Day is important for everyone, not just people who decide to come out of the closet, she said.

“We have people, see people, coming up and coming out on stage and being really proud, and [other students] see that it’s not uncommon for someone to be gay,” she said.

National Coming Out Day began Oct. 11, 1988, to commemorate a march on Washington, D.C., in 1987, when 500,000 people gathered to support equal rights for LGBT Americans.

This fall, the college was rated one of the nation’s top LGBT- friendly campuses. Still, some issues need to be addressed on campus, said junior Stephanie Masline, co-president of prism. She said there is homophobia at the college, but it is not more excessive here than on other campuses.

Freshman Gabriel Ely, who has been out as a transgender for a year and a half, said an issue on campus for transgender individuals is a lack of single-occupancy bathrooms.

“That’s hard because that means I spend time contemplating when I can drink water and when I can’t and not end up stuck between two classes and having to go to the bathroom and not having time to go back to my room,” Ely said.

Prism is working to help with this problem by identifying where all the single-stall or gender-neutral bathrooms are and publicizing this so people know where they can go.

Lisa Maurer, coordinator of LGBT Education Outreach Services, said changes need to be made on a worldwide scale, as well. She said one change she would like to see in her lifetime involving LGBT is more states passing anti-discrimination laws.

Just a few years ago, New York state passed a law making it illegal to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. The bill for the law had been proposed every year for 30 years, and there are only about a dozen states that have passed similar laws, she said.

“It’s perfectly legal [in other states without the law] to be fired from a job if you are gay, or if someone thinks you are gay,” she said. “It’s perfectly legal to deny housing to someone, to deny renting an apartment to someone if they’re gay or you think they’re gay.”

Savin-Williams said he thinks National Coming Out Day is significant for the visibility it produces in the community and for pride.

“It adds sort of cultural visibility to the individuals who have not yet come out,” he said. “It’s sort of a statement of pride and how far people who are out have come,” he said.

Masline said National Coming Out Day is important because of its political significance. It is also meant to express pride, she said.

“It changes people’s attitudes, making people realize that [LGBT people are] more than labels,” she said. “They’re more than stereotypes. They’re human beings.”

Maurer said she chose Savin-Williams as this year’s speaker because of his extensive knowledge.

“He is a world-renowned expert on young people and same-sex attractions,” she said. “He’s been researching and writing about this topic for many, many years.”

Maurer said Savin-Williams will speak about trends he has found through research, which include more people coming out at younger ages as non-heterosexual, but not necessarily identifying as a particular label.

“Overall, this is an incredible campus to be part of if you don’t identify as heterosexual because there are so many people like you and there are so many resources here,” she said.