Lindsey Fiala | Reporter
Nov.17, 2016; 3:37 p.m.
Ethan Miller, as Mercury Jones, performs to the song “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston.
Nearly $500 was collected during the fourth annual drag show last night titled “Dragging up the Past.”
The show was put on by the Gay/Straight Alliance in the Black Box Theater in the Scheidegger Center.
The audience was kept entertained by a series of performances by students and faculty who let loose in a lip-syncing, dancing frenzy. The songs they performed ranged in eras from the 1960s all the way to the 2000s.
Held once a semester, contestants are able to dress, perform and act however they pleased.
“This is drag, it’s what we are supposed to do is offend you people,” said GSA President Nick Simmons.
The night began at 7 p.m. in the packed theater, which was so full about 30 spectators were denied entrance due to lack of room.
Before the show, members of the audience were provided several hundred dollars in dollar bills to give to the performers throughout the night by Heather Brown-Hudson, a professor in the School of Humanities and adviser of the Gender Studies Club.
The show was hosted by Simmons and Brown-Hudson. Both participated in the show.
During a short break in the show, Hudson-Brown asked members of the audience “queer trivia” who were then rewarded for correct answers with Buffalo Wild Wings gift cards.
The night contained emotional performances for both the performers and audience. One act, performed by all contestants of the show, was dedicated to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting that occurred back in June of this year.
Gender Studies Club adviser Heather Brown-Hudson performs as Prophecy in the opening number of the drag show last night.
Another emotional moment was when Simmons came onto the stage and announced his stepping down as president of GSA.
Simmons decided to announce his stepping down so there would be no confusion about how and why he decided to do so.
“These are the best people on campus and they deserve the best,” said Simmons. According to Simmons he was unable to be around most of the time, which did not allow him to be the best president he could be.
He told a story of a man falling into a hole, only to be saved by his friend jumping down and helping him out.
“I know how to get out of this hole because I have been down here before,” said the friend who jumped down the hole.
Simmons compared this story to being a member of GSA. Simmons explained that if someone falls down a hole, the members of GSA will be there to help them out.
The crowd erupted into cheers as most members of GSA ran onto stage to embrace one another.
The finale of the show was performed by all the contestants lip-syncing and dancing to the song “Flashlight”.
