The year 2011 may someday be seen as a milestone for gay rights. For the past decade, public opinion regarding the LGBTQ community has evolved at an exponential rate. This year, for the first time ever, polls showed that public support for gay marriage had exceeded the 50 percent mark in the U.S. In December 2010, President Barack Obama signed an order repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that banned gays from serving openly. Then, over the summer, Illinois and New York became the largest states to recognize civil unions and same-sex marriage respectively. In one year, more than 30 million additional people live someplace where they can enjoy a legally recognized union with the person they love, regardless of gender.

Big changes are only made possible when everyday people make the tough choices and stand up for what they believe in, no matter the consequences. And that’s exactly what Anthony Alfano, DePaul University’s first openly gay student body president, did when he opened up to The DePaulia about his sexuality in the Oct. 24 issue. Alfano was already out to friends and some of his family, but his father did not know, so he came out to him before the article went to press. He told the Chicago Tribune’s Mary Schmich that he did it because he owed it to other young gay people to be more candid and to show that there’s hope—he’s in a position of influence at the nation’s largest Catholic university. Alfano’s move echoes the many “It Gets Better” projects, and he deserves to be recognized for his courage.

Alfano also cited the high suicide rate among gay youth as a reason for going public—he admitted to having attempted suicide himself in high school. That issue is one of the most pressing reasons why people like Alfano deserve credit for being true to themselves. No one should feel so oppressed in the U.S. that they’re driven to take their own lives, yet that’s the reality for many gay youths, especially in rural conservative areas. Hopefully, as more people feel comfortable coming out, the snowball effect will quicken, and bigotry—not homosexuality—will be taboo in all regions of the U.S.

There has been great progress made this year, but the fight for LGBTQ rights is far from over. The mere fact that Alfano’s sexuality was news is proof of that. Yes, even in 2011, hate still permeates our culture. The president of Catholic Citizens of Illinois gave a statement saying, “St. Vincent DePaul would be rolling in his grave.” There are no polite words for people and organizations that spew this kind of hatred in today’s world. To all the Anthony Alfanos in the world: Thank you for putting bigots in their place.