Margaret Dotson drag

I remember this event. The LGBTQ+ Welcome Assembly hosted by the Pride Student Union. It was one of the first few things I shot for The Alligator as a photography intern during the Fall 2019. I was a newbie at shooting for a newspaper, and I took 600+ pictures at that event. Seventy of them I sent to my editor, and three were printed. After trying my best to get photos of the performances, with their difficult lighting and fast movements, I grew frustrated and started walking the halls behind the ballroom. I knew I wanted to get some sort of behind-the-scenes photo, but I also didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy while they were changing costumes. Ivy Les Vixens, a local Burlesque dancer, let me come into her dressing room and said she was just finishing up her makeup if I wanted to take some pictures. So I did. After taking this photo, I felt much more confident about photographing the event, and I even ended up underneath the stage to get another epic shot. As one of the first events I photographed that was a full photo story, this photo helped convince me this was what I was supposed to be doing, and I was capable of shooting for a newspaper. One picture may seem trivial to a freshman just trying to make her mark on campus, but it was monumental to me.