Florida-based drag star Marisol Lords welcomed nearly 400 students to sing and dance to “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan during Pride Student Union’s welcome assembly at University Auditorium Monday night.
PSU, UF’s largest LGBTQ+ student organization, invited three visual performers, an a cappella opener, a headline music act, seven table showcases and five keynote addresses to the event. Performers Sting Don, Ivy Les Vixen and Marisol Lords flaunted extravagant outfits while lip syncing to popular songs, and the tables and speakers displayed resources for the queer community.
Sedoctaves, the premier all-female a capella group on campus, opened for the event. It was the first PSU event the group performed at, according to its president, Akhila Nataraj, a UF health science senior.
Robin Anstett, a 20-year-old computer science junior and PSU’s Queer Cultivation Program director, said the event invites members of the queer community to support one another around campus. The annual welcome assemblies engage new and returning members ahead of Fall festivities and weekly meetings.
“Coming from a larger city like South Florida, I was worried Gainesville might feel small and unwelcoming,” Anstett said. “There is a vibrant queer community here.”
The theme, “Let Them Eat Camp,” is multifaceted, Anstett said. The theme drew from Marie Antoinette’s famous French Revolution phrase “let them eat cake” and the concept of “camp” in the LGBTQ+ community.
In the queer community, “camp” defines something that is playful and eccentric and is often used in drag, Anstett said. The theme intended to highlight the community’s vitality, they added.
“Bringing friends, whether they’re queer or not, helps build support and strengthens our community,” Anstett said. “Your presence and participation make a difference.”
Jeremiah Feizi, a UF microbiology and cell sciences sophomore, perceived the theme through a humorous lens. He made a green locket “brat” necklace to commemorate pop artist Charli XCX’s hit summer album.
To Feizi, the club-pop album reflected the event’s “camp” theme. PSU had used the album’s simplistic design and energetic songs to advertise the welcome assembly on social media.
“Camp is kind of a low bar — it’s like low-hanging fruit,” Feizi said. “But I thought it was clever.”
Feizi came to the PSU Assembly after hearing that it was a Signature Event, meaning that student leader volunteers and UF Student Engagement collaborated to host an intriguing and diverse experience for all Gators. This week, there are six Signature Events.
Feizi said he would be interested in joining PSU, especially after seeing the performers and keynote speakers. He admires UF for contributing to PSU’s event, he added.
“I think some people might come from backgrounds where they didn't feel included, or they might have been threatened in some way,” Feizi said. “I'm glad that they now have some place that they can call their own.”
UF LGBTQ+ Presidential Advisory Committee co-chair Michelle Boyd was a keynote speaker. She has served as UF’s Health Cancer Center event manager for three years and became involved in LPAC two years ago.
Boyd’s goal as a speaker was to show that resources and support are available for UF’s LGBTQ+ community. Legislation, like Florida House Bill 1521 that requires universities to have bathrooms designated for genders assigned at birth, has added barriers to queer students’ comfort on campus, she said.
“While things have changed, there are still opportunities and resources and help out there for those in the queer community,” Boyd said.
Contact Ella Dorfman at edorfman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @dorfman_ella.
