In an effort to unite Penn State's diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied (LGBTA) community, on-campus groups will kick off the annual Pride Week with a rally at noon today on the steps of Old Main.

"Penn State is a very large place, but for folks who are queer, it can be a very lonely place," Allies President Ed Rowe said. "We're trying to bring people together and offer a sense of community."

Today's Pride Rally will begin the week's festivities with speakers, free T-shirts and a performance by a cappella group None of the Above.

The emphasis, of both the rally and the week, is diversity, with speakers at the rally including a fraternity member, minority students and an associate professor, Rowe said.

"When people think of [LGBTA], they think of gay, white men," he said. "We're trying to change that."

The organizers of the week focused on the inclusion of participants from all different segments of Penn State society, Rowe said.

Rowe said Pride Week has become more than just a week's worth of activities.

Undertones organized a professional drag show on March 25 at HUB Alumni Hall. For the past two weekends, the Coalition for LGBTA Graduate Students sponsored the "One in Ten" Film Festival, with multiple screenings daily from Thursday to Sunday in the Thomas and Chambers buildings.

Pride Week remains the most concentrated annual celebration of LGBTA programming.

The Shower of Stoles Project opens tomorrow in the HUB Gallery Lounge, featuring 200 liturgical stoles donated by or in support of LGBTA ministers of all denominations who are afraid to or can't come out, said Eric Patridge, co-director of the Coalition of LGBTA Graduate Students.

"It's a visualization of the oppression that LBGTA students face," Patridge said. "It provides the opportunity for different faiths to show support for the LGBTA community."

Starbucks Coffee, 232 W. College Ave., will hold an after-hours free-coffee social for the LGBTA community from midnight to 2 Wednesday morning.

The LGBTA Student Resource Center will host keynote speaker and former NFL defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo, author of Alone in the Trenches: My Life as A Gay Man in the NFL, at 7 p.m. Thursday in HUB Alumni Hall.

On Friday, Ron Buford, director of the United Church of Christ's "God Is Still Speaking" initiative, will speak at 5 p.m in the HUB Gallery Lounge as part of the Shower of Stoles Project.

Later that evening, the Unity Prom will take place at the Ramada Inn, 1450 S. Atherton St., including dinner at 7 p.m. and a dance at 9 p.m. The prom is aimed at giving LGBTA students an opportunity they didn't have in high school, Rowe said.

Pride Week will be capped off at 10 p.m. Saturday in HUB Heritage Hall with the crowning of Mr. and Ms. Gay Penn State, the first LGBTA pageant.

"[This week is about] getting educated and having fun," Undertones President Fernando Disla said.