Upcoming dancer and rapper, Breslin “B-5” Webb, a senior dance major, kicked off the performances for the “Unity in Pride Ball,” working the entire stage and crowd with his music and dance, which was quickly mirrored by members of the audience. “Y’all wanna follow me over the rainbow?” he shouted into the microphone.
On Friday, May 9, the Student Government Association and Student Diversity and Inclusion hosted the first ever “Unity in Pride Ball” as the finale of a three-day celebration called PRIDE in May. About 40 students and visitors filled the Haus at 623 S. Wabash Ave. for the event.
The room was decorated with banners of all different pride flags floating in between the columns. Next to some tables and chairs was a quaint, makeshift runway lit up by warm twinkle lights that were laid down on each side. As soon as they walked in, attendees were greeted with upbeat pop music with jumping bass in addition to a bar of refreshments, small sandwiches and little goodies to take home like pride flag stickers and “PRIDE in May” buttons.
Everyone was dressed in different fashions, ranging from floor-length dresses, pink tulle and cocktail numbers to animal print, bright leather and denim looks.
Matthew Eiler-Rillie, SDI’s coordinator of student support and engagement, said “PRIDE in May” had been about celebrating pride with queer and trans folks, something SDI has been intentionally wanting to “focus on for a very long time.”
Since most students leave campus in June during Pride month, Eiler-Rillie said SDI and SGA wanted to offer students a place to celebrate their true identities before returning home, where they may not have the chance to show “a very authentic version of themselves.”
“It is to be able to capture that really beautiful affirmation and joy that these months offer to people who hold these identities,” Eiler-Rillie said.
The “Unity in Pride Ball” carried the theme of ballroom culture with performances by students and categories they can enter. The ball and these categories were created by Mar Wynn, a senior film and television major, who is also a peer educator for SDI and the executive vice president of communications for SGA. They came up with the ideas of a realness category, a duo category for those who wanted to enter with a friend, and in true ballroom fashion — a voguing category.
At the end of the night, Wynn was surprised with their very own category, award and flowers, presented by Eiler-Rillie. “With tens across the board, our winner of celestial body, the stars of us all — Mar.”
“We really want to focus on this really beautiful experience that centers Black and Brown folks, Black and Brown queer folks and queer joy as kind of our first year and our first theme,” Eiler-Rillie said.
Being Black and queer, Wynn said ballroom culture is their culture.
“I really want to make sure that our queer students of color are brought into the dialogue when it comes to queerness,” he said.
At the same time, Wynn said the culture of ballroom is in everything from fashion to language and dancing.
“I really want to take the time to uplift this, shine for the people who originated that culture,” Wynn said.
Wynn said he hopes the theme and event not only helps students feel seen and inspired, but also assists in educating them on what ballroom is. Even when they pitched the theme of ballroom, Wynn said they were met with confusion. “People were like, ‘What, ballroom culture?’ And I’m like ‘Yes queen, come on, you know it,’” they said.
Justin Echols, a junior fine arts major and member of the House of Juicy Couture, said he looked forward to walking the voguing category. With his duckwalks and deathdrops, he scored 10s across the board, winning the category.
Echols said despite the harm people may try to enact on the LGBTQ+ community, he feels it’s still important to celebrate Pride. “Pride is about owning who we are and not letting anyone affect us,” Echols said. “Even if they have negative things to say, we’re gonna do us regardless, and we are who we are, and that’s okay.”
Coming out his first year of college, Echols said having this space where he knows he can be himself helps. “I feel like, especially in college, there’s a lot of students who come from toxic households where they can’t really be themselves, so college is that space for them,” he said.
Eiler-Rillie reflected on the college’s “visibly diverse” and queer student body, as the college reported that approximately one-third of students self-identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. “I don’t think little, 16-year-old me would have ever thought this life was possible,” they said.
Considering the recent attacks on the queer community within the country, Eiler-Rillie said they hope these celebrations in May helps to end the school year in an “affirming way” that also offers “a readiness” to work together. They said that looking toward the future, there’s some “very intense real work and real fights” ahead.
“We can fight the good fight together and experience some really deep joy together at the same time,” Eiler-Rillie said.
Looking at the scope of the world, Wynn said that some students are about to “return to a harsh reality,” depending on where they’re from or their family. He said students may not have the resources to go out or feel safe enough to celebrate Pride month in June, so SDI and SGA thought to bring the celebration to Columbia a month early.
“We always hear about how fun pride is here in Chicago, so hopefully there’s a little sprinkle to keep them hopeful,” Wynn said.
The second day of “PRIDE in May” consisted of the Lavender Ceremony, a graduation ceremony for seniors part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Eiler-Rillie said they had started the Lavender Ceremony in 2019, having paid for the lavender cords and for certificates to be printed themself. Since then, they said SDI has been able to make the event a “foundational thing” throughout the office and college.
This year, Eiler-Rillie had also written a small grant and received an extra $300 for support from the Illinois Education Association.
“It’s grown a bit every year,” Eiler-Rillie said. “I think it still maintains this really beautiful, lovely, intimate, affirming, very much come-as-you-are type of space.”
When listening to the recent news or having discussions with people in the queer community, Eiler-Rillie said the systems in the country are not built for many to “survive and thrive.”
“I won’t let the government steal my joy from me,” Eiler-Rillie said. “I won’t let our students say because the news feels so bleak, they can’t experience affirmation in their life.”
Echo Guest, a sophomore acting major, said it was really heartwarming to see “PRIDE in May,” since there aren’t any pride events back in their small hometown in Wisconsin.
Guest said they didn’t come from the most accepting area and their family, besides their gay sister, isn’t at all accepting of the queer lifestyle. “I was a little self-conscious because I’ve never been to an event like this,” Guest said. “Seeing everybody having a good time and cheering each other on, I’m glad I got to experience it.”
Wynn said they wanted to share the message of “you’re not alone.”
Wynn encourages students to take time for themselves, but also to make time for their community and be patient. Wynn gave the example of student organization Trans Fam, who have been “really prevalent” in keeping the visibility of queer students. Wynn said he hopes to see more queer student groups in the future and that students feel encouraged to create them.
“I hope, since I’ll be an alumni, people utilize me as a resource,” they said. “I hope people don’t have to face the experience that I faced alone.”
Copy edited by Trinity Balboa
