WOLF_issue2_s25 by Loyola Maroon

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

DEAR WOLF READERS,

This issue of The Wolf is one that I felt was necessary to make happen when we brainstormed it. The queer community is one filled with vibrant and unique personalities that make the Wolf Pack so special and extraordinary. It is my honor and privilege to be able to shine a light on a part of Loyola’s campus that deserves to be celebrated. We are fortunate to be able to showcase some of the impact and diversity that is on display here, whether it’s through performance, film, or in the classroom.

I hope that this issue is able to provide a voice to folks who have been searching for one, find a community where they thought there was none, and embrace their full selves in all of their brilliance, learn a little, and enjoy the final edition of The Wolf for the Spring 2025 semester.

Editor in Chief, Matthew Richards

Loyola queen shares how drag became her most unexpected and empowering transformation.

Written by Krakow Lightning

Photography by Taylor Falgout

Becoming a drag queen has been such a strange turn in my life. It is something I would have never expected for myself. Nevertheless, I have found a home in drag; a comfort that I am unsure I would have ever found in something else. My first time in drag was Halloween of last year, 2024. As some people on campus may have seen, I dressed up as Cher. With my less than mediocre impression and cheap wig I borrowed from a friend, it was far from a polished impersonation. Despite all of its flaws, I found so much enjoyment in my costume. I certainly was no fan of how painful wearing a long wig for hours and hours was, but the week after Halloween I just kept wanting to dress up as Cher again. For roughly a year before the Cher costume, I had been joking with my friends about doing drag under the name Krakow Lightning after watching seasons 15 and 16 of

Ru Paul’s Drag Race. It was never something serious, I just loved watching Drag Race and thought coming up with witty drag names was fun. However, many Cher hair flips and “woah”s later, I put some serious thought into it and decided to give it a shot. Krakow Lightning quickly went from being a joke to a full fledged drag persona.

In that same month of inventing Krakow Lightning, I also planned my first drag show at Debbie With A D’s Tuesday Talent Nights at the Oz bar. I took my cheap dress from my Cher costume and bought some heels at Buffalo Exchange. Then I worked on creating my own song, Krakow Lightning, with my friend Wyatt Cusick. I decided to debut the song on December 3rd at the talent night.

The art and the community that comes with being a queen, especially in this city, has been so incredibly freeing for me as someone who is queer.

KRAKOW LIGHTNING

Going into the show, I was really nervous that the other queens would dislike me, fearing that it would be a hypercompetitive and unwelcoming space. I was shocked to be so quickly embraced by the other queens and performers. They tried very hard to make sure I was comfortable and that I was enjoying myself. They gave me makeup tips when they saw me struggling and even let me borrow some of their things when I needed it. They gave me many compliments and joked around with me like they had known me for years. I just felt very at home and I always feel that way when I perform at a show with other queens.

I have always been very hard on myself. I’m truly a perfectionist to such a high extreme. Drag has been a really good way for me to get myself away from that

mindset of wanting everything I do to be flawless. Given that my first show was a competition against much more experienced queens, I had to go into the show knowing I obviously was not going to do well in the competition aspect of it. Honestly though, I felt perfectly comfortable with that. I was just happy to be doing drag. It is something I can just have fun with. My drag can be whatever I want it to be. I do not at all stress about perfectionism in my drag. Is it frustrating when things go awry or when my makeup does not look as good as I would like it to? Yes, of course, but as long as I am having fun and I make others have fun through my performance, why should I care?

I do not know if drag is something I will be doing forever, but right now I absolutely love

doing it. It is truly so much fun and the queens of New Orleans are such a great batch of people to be around. The art and the community that comes with being a queen, especially in this city, has been so incredibly freeing for me as someone who is queer. It is comforting, fun, and is such a beautiful form of queer expression.

Janssen Van De Yacht’s film dives into a queer artist’s struggle with identity, desire, and self-expression.

Written by Valentina Russell Photography Courtesy of Janssen Van De Yacht

Filmmaking here

at Loyola usually can lead to working on a thesis film. This is a project designed to give seniors the tools and opportunities needed to create their own film or documentary. It gives them freedom to bring their ideas to life and have control over the production process.

Janssen Van De Yacht, a Digital Filmmaking senior, is finishing up his thesis film titled “Mugshot”. The film revolves around a failing photographer who encounters a gorgeous model killer.

“Much of my inspiration was drawn from movies about photography, like “Rear Window,” “Blow-Up,” and “Eyes of Laura Mars.” The elements

of photography were equal parts Mapplethorpe-, Warhol-, and Newton-inspired. I am forever fascinated with their bravery in tackling taboo subject matter, unabashedly shooting their models in the nude and vulnerable. We are fascinated by the uncanny, violent, and perverse, particularly when

there is a lens removing the viewer from the subject,” said Jannsen. Pre-production began back in the summer of 2024 and carried over into the fall semester. Photoshoots, preparation for filing, and more with a four day shoot that began on November 5th.

“Oliver Parker shot my movie, and he not only captured everything I could have ever imagined, but

went above and beyond. Workflow with him was like using a hot chef’s knife in room-temperature butter. Benjamin Dougherty (the failing photographer, Oscar) and Tyler Steffen (the beautiful model killer, Bennett) were both an absolute dream come true, and handled such grotesque roles with determination and ease. Every time I look back at my footage, I find new choices they made and I am just obsessed with them. Anja Avsharian (Rachel) was such a breath of fresh air to the production, and working with her a second time was such a joy,” Janssen commented.

The LGBTQ community is behind so much of the best art out there.

JANSSEN VAN DE YACHT

A

stand out moment about this film is the topic of nudity. “Nudity is one of those taboo things that shouldn’t be so taboo. The human body is beautiful, and should not be innately sexualized. I am allegedly the first Loyola filmmaker to utilize nudity in a senior thesis film, albeit in the still photography utilized in the production. A lot of meetings, research, and conversations were necessary to build a comfortable and professional studio space for my models. I had never done anything like this before, and neither had most of my models, but we learned together and it became a really liberating, fulfilling experience.”

When asked about the film’s LGBTQ characteristics and influences, Janssen replied:

“The LGBTQ community is responsible for a vast majority of the best art out there. Artists and

filmmakers like Gregg Araki, Robert Mapplethorpe, Todd Haynes, Andy Warhol, Dennis Cooper, and Kenneth Anger are just some of those responsible for pioneering the freedom in expression taken for granted today, and have been incredible inspirations for me in my own artistic endeavors. There are some pretty universal themes to their work: love, violence, existence, repression, transgression, transformation, eroticism. My film focuses on a photographer unable to grapple with his own personal and artistic identity, and that confusion trickles down to his personal integrity, making for a pretty sick and twisted individual. The depths of repression can be extreme.”

“Mugshot” both taught me so much and allowed me to put into practice everything I have learned during this program. Making a movie about a film photographer

was my excuse to dive into everything there is to know about the medium. Photography was an art form largely unknown to me, but something I had admired all my life. My photographs specialist and best friend, Cecily Venema, is a phenomenal photographer and we spent hours totaling days working on the conception, production, processing, development, and printing of close to twenty rolls of film. I am lucky to have been able to work with the beautiful, talented friends I have made during my time at Loyola. It means the world to me that I was able to spend this time with them, and will always have a movie that stands as a testament to that.”

This film is very important to Janssen, and his care and passion for it are clear, both in his replies and the project itself.