By Ellyn Kershner

In honor of National Coming Out Day, Allies of Kutztown University will hold their first annual Pride Parade. The parade will be held on the university’s campus on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 11 a.m.

Allies of Kutztown University is a gay-straight alliance organization that supports equality for the GLBTQ community. The organization promotes activism through various campus events. Allies has existed on the campus in some form since the 1990s and has made great strides ever since.

The parade is part of a celebration for National Coming Out Day on Saturday, Oct. 11. The purpose of this day is to create awareness of GLBTQ rights. Members of this community are encouraged to “come out” on this day and celebrate their identities.

Shannon Peitzer, chair of Allies Equality Network, organized the parade which will include many other student organizations. Peitzer is a dual major studying psychology and professional writing. Some clubs participating in the parade include the Quidditch Club, Communication Club, Social Welfare Club, Anthropology Club, Tau Beta Sigma, FMLA, and KU’s local Oxfam and NAACP chapters.

The parade will begin at College Hill Memorial Grove and continue west on Main Street in Kutztown. It will end on campus by the MacFarland Student Union Building.

Nykolai Blichar, president of Allies at Kutztown, commented on the upcoming event, “…the 1st Annual Pride Parade is a great way to spread both the pride of the queer community, but also the pride of everyone at Kutztown University as a whole. All of the groups involved have put a lot of effort into this event and we hope that it brings not just KU pride, but also pride for being who we are and what we do to better ourselves here at Kutztown University.” Blichar is a sophomore Political Science major with minors in International and Women and Gender Studies.