Wednesday, October 26, 2022 - Pride Special Issue

YOUR PRIDE

THE TORCH

REFLECT ON HISTORY

DAILY BEACON STAFF AND POLICY INFORMATION

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Daniel Dassow

MANAGING EDITOR: Abby Ann Ramsey

COPY CHIEF: Olivia Hayes

NEWS EDITOR: Autumn Hall

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Emma Co�ey

SPORTS EDITOR: Andrew Peters

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: Eric Woods

OPINIONS EDITOR: Lily Marcum

DIGITAL PRODUCER: Kailee Harris

PHOTO EDITOR: Alexandra Ashmore

DESIGN EDITOR: Bella Hughes

PAGE DESIGNERS: Emma Fingeret, Rhylee Gross, Chloe Black

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER: Jackie Dremel

ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Cullen Askew

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES: Shelby Coppock, Sibeal McGrath

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION ARTIST: Victoria Wheelock

CONTACTS

TO REPORT A NEWS ITEM OR SUBMIT A PRESS RELEASE, please email editor.news@utdailybeacon.com or call (865) 974-2348

TO PLACE AN AD, please email admanager@utk.edu.

LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor must be exclusive to The Daily Beacon and cannot have been submitted to or published by other media. Letters should not exceed 400 words and can be edited or shortened for space. Letters can also be edited for grammar and typographical errors, and Letters that contain excessive grammatical errors can be rejected for this reason. Anonymous Letters will not be published. Authors should include their full name, mailing address, city of residence, phone number and e-mail address for verification purposes. Letters submitted without this information will not be published. The preferred method to submit a Letter to the Editor is to email the Editor-in-Chief.

CORRECTIONS POLICY:It is the Daily Beacon’s policy to quickly correct any factual errors and clarify any potentially misleading information. Errors brought to our attention by readers or sta� members will be corrected and printed on page two of our publication. To report an error please send as much information as possible about where and when the error occurred to managingeditor@ utdailybeacon.com, or call our newsroom at (865) 974-5206.

The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee on Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters.

The o�ces are located at 1345 Circle Park Drive, 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 379960314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year or $100/semester. It is also available online at: www. utdailybeacon.com

Letter from Pride Center Coordinator

throughout the calendar year as a time for education, awareness, remembrance and celebration of underrepresented and marginalized identities and communities.

The history, contributions and accomplishments of the LGBTQ community are often erased and suppressed. I encourage you to explore opportunities that resurface and amplify our queer and trans elders and their activism, advocacy and struggles for the rights we have today.

We each make a little bit of history every day as we go about our lives, particularly when we are living as our most authentic selves. We may not realize that our actions now can and will ripple into the future, potentially paving a new route for others to follow and take up the torch of change and hope.

later.

In the spirit of the month, we must remember that it is our duty to learn from their lives and experiences to continue the fight for a more just and equitable society for all people.

Even as we close out LGBTQ+ History Month, I hope that you can tap into the rich history around us not only on campus but in our local Knoxville community. If you would like to learn more about local LGBTQ history, I highly recommend checking out the East Tennessee LGBTQ+ History Project housed in our very own UT Archives. It contains oral histories, old newspapers and newsletters, organization histories and more.

BONNIE JOHNSON Pride Center Coordinator

Hi Volunteer family,

Happy October! Whether it’s getting into the Big Orange spirit at Homecoming or enjoying all things creepy with Halloween approaching, there is certainly something for all this fall. For our LGBTQ community on campus, we have been celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month over the last four weeks through a wide variety of programming and events.

Started in 1994 by Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school history teacher, LGBTQ+ History Month is observed every October in the United States in honor of National Coming Out Day (October 11 annually) and the first-ever march for gay rights in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 14, 1979.

It joins other cultural heritage months

Did you know LGBTQ student activism and advocacy has at least fifty years of history at our own university? From 1971 to 1974, the Gay Liberation Front (later renamed the Gay People’s Alliance) appealed, protested and legally challenged the university to recognize the group as a registered student organization and provide equal funding and facility access.

After the Student Government Association, then in charge of student funding and space usage, expressed its support for the Gay Liberation Front, it was dissolved and replaced with the Student Senate that did not have the same funding and administrative abilities.

Were these student activists aware at the time that they were blazing a new trail for their fellow Volunteers and forever changing what university support for the LGBTQ community meant?

I think they knew that they were making a difference for themselves and the community in that moment, but I do not think they could have ever imagined the legacy they created that carries through to our time half a century

Bonnie Johnson Pride Center Coordinator

As we enter the final part of the semester, I hope to see you at any of our upcoming events, like our annual Friendsgiving Community Dinner cohosted with Multicultural Student Life and the International House on Nov. 16 or our Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil on Nov. 17. Find more details on our website or social media. Have a great week and go Vols!

With pride, Bonnie Johnson (she / they)

An acrobat artist performs at the annual Knoxville Pride Fest on Oct. 1, 2022 at World’s fair Park. Cam Gliessner/ Contributor

“We may not realize that our actions now can and will ripple into the future, potentially paving a new route for others to follow and take up the torch of change and hope.”

Small safe spaces: Gender-neutral bathrooms affirm identity

BOLDT Contributor

There is a bathroom you might now know about in the Humanities and Social Sciences building at UT. It is at the end of the hall by the P.O.D. market, behind an unmarked door. It doesn’t have a label. Not even a number to call it by.

This bathroom, half-hidden, is one of Alex Dowd’s favorites on campus. Dowd is a senior studying ecology. He identifies as a transgender man and is the president of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (oSTEM).

oSTEM is an organization with chapters around the country. Dowd was a founding officer of the UT chapter and has since taken over its presidency.

Talking about his bathroom experiences, Dowd leaned forward, grinning.

“First of all, there’s a bathroom that I love that … most other people don’t know about,” Dowd said.

His beloved bathroom, the unmarked one in HSS, is almost always empty, which Dowd thinks is due to the fact almost no one knows it is there.

It is not the only gender-neutral bathroom

on campus that is slightly hidden. There is one on the first floor of the Student Union, in an alcove-like hallway behind the gendered bathrooms. Dowd described it as a tunnel.

These bathrooms and their strange placements were a part of the information Donna Braquet compiled. She used that information to push for better gender-neutral bathrooms.

Braquet is a librarian at UT, and was the original director of the Pride Center until 2016, when the center was defunded by the state legislature. The center reopened in fall 2016 supported by private funding.

Braquet has spent her years at UT helping to push for progress. Part of that work was pushing for gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. Braquet began asking around about them and was given a list that was supposed to detail all gender-neutral bathrooms on campus.

With the list, Braquet hunted down the bathrooms. Working with others at the Pride Center, she trekked around campus to find them and report back.

Her findings illuminated issues with the accessibility of many bathrooms. Some were behind locked doors, some only available to faculty or inaccessible for people with disabilities. Some were single stalls but had gendered markers on the door.

The wording “gender neutral” is not used

across campus to mark these bathrooms. Some bathrooms have signs which say “all gender” and others are still marked as family bathrooms. Braquet suggested this is partly to do with the stigma surrounding the trans community. Even now there are several restrooms labeled family restrooms, although many have been changed over to “all gender.”

The bathroom in HSS used to have a sign, Dowd said, but not for the past few years. It disappeared sometime after he started college and has not been replaced.

In 2018, the Association of American Universities conducted a survey of 181,752 students across 33 universities. 1.7% of respondents identified themselves in one of the following categories: trans woman, trans man, nonbinary or genderqueer, questioning or not listed.

Applying that number to UT, that’s almost 500 students.

Without gender-neutral bathrooms, these students put themselves at risk. When Dowd is unable to find a gender-neutral bathroom, he will use a gendered one. In order to maintain safety, he goes through a series of actions to protect himself, like reorienting his body language to seem more masculine.

“If I’m walking and there’s someone at the urinal, and they start to turn around, I sort of

like, look the other way and like do this,” Dowd said, demonstrating by sticking his hand in his hair, his head turned down and away. “To, like, cover my face a little bit. Just in general doing a lot of covert things.”

Dowd will also avoid speaking so the pitch of his voice won’t give him away.

Ciara Gazaway, bias education coordinator in the office of the Dean of Students, used to work in the Pride Center as a graduate student. She says she knew students who would plan their day around using the bathroom. They would go to the Pride Center to use its genderneutral bathrooms when they passed.

“In terms of these restrooms, these are places that affirm identity,” Gazaway said. “A function of every single human being … that they can do that and feel comfortable, not have to hide or be ashamed of who they are. ”

Dowd hopes that people will continue using the HSS bathroom.

“After we came back from COVID I was worried it would be, like, a lost bathroom. But I want to spread the word because I love that bathroom,” Dowd said. “Knowledge of it is going extinct as people graduate.”

Dowd has tried putting up his own signs in the past, but they don’t stay up for long. For now, the bathroom continues to be maintained and is used by those who know it is there.

All Campus Theatre shifts ‘Twelfth Night’ to post-Stonewall 1970s New York City

AURORA SILAVONG Staff Writer

All Campus Theatre (ACT) will stage a pro duction of William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” with a twist: a setting shift to 1970s New York in the aftermath of the Stonewall Riots.

The play will explore themes of queer iden tity and culture through the lens of Shake speare’s language. The 1969 Stonewall Riots and its aftershocks play a large role in this ad aptation. The production is directed by junior Cearan Jax Costello.

“I told my team, ‘If we do Twelfth Night, I want to direct it,’” Costello said. “After watch ing it, I already had lots of ideas and thoughts on it, and it was and is still my favorite Shake speare play.”

The original “Twelfth Night” is a roman tic comedy that plays with concepts of gender fluidity and sexual ambiguity. The main char acter, Viola, spends the majority of the play disguised as a man named Cesario. The queer themes within the play have led to many LG BTQ-centric performances over the years.

In ACT’s adaptation, Cesario has been re written as a transgender man making his way through New York City in the wake of his

brother’s death. Other characters in the play have also been rewritten to be queer.

“I set this show in the 70s because it very much spoke to me as a show about a trans character, even though that was not the origi nal intention,” Costello said. “My first thought was to have this show as an homage to the Stonewall Riots, and the best way for us to do that was to place it in New York in the 1970s.”

Isabella Reynolds, a freshman studying American Sign Language interpreting, will play Cesario.

“When I’m attending Shakespeare produc tions, I love to see them change up the setting or the framing of the story,” Reynolds said.

Junior Aliah Mahalati, who is double-ma joring in political science and theatre, will play the role of Olivia and looks forward to how the change in time and place will appeal to the au dience.

“I think it will help the audience to connect better with the material of the play by ground ing it in recent history,” Mahalati said.

Costello says he hopes audiences will come

to the show wanting to learn more about queer history and the LGBTQ experience.

“Our show has a unique perspective on is sues in the queer community that the college age audience especially might not be aware of,” Costello said.

Preparations for the show have not been without their challenges. Plans for their origi nal venue fell through, forcing a move to the Clarence Brown Theatre.

“This overall gives us less time to work in the space, but that only means our team has to work more efficiently to get all the work done,” Costello said. “It is also always great to get to work with the Clarence Brown Theatre staff on projects.”

Another challenge was the language. Al though the play has been abridged and edited to fit the new setting, almost all of the Shake spearean language has been preserved in its original form.

“People don’t talk like that anymore, so pronunciation of certain words and the way of talking is very different from what we’re all used to,” Mahalati said.

Performances will be on Nov. 11, 13 and 14 at the Lab Theatre inside the Clarence Brown Theatre. All ACT productions are free to the public. For more information, check out the ACT website and the ACT Instagram @actutk.

GAYmerz blends identity, hobby into welcoming community

AUTUMN HALL News Editor

Many students look to campus organiza tions to find a sense of community during their time in college. It is not often, however, that students come across an organization that combines their favorite leisure activities with shared identities.

The student organization GAYmerz is do ing just that. Completely student-run and founded in 2018, GAYmerz combines the hobby of gaming with a safe community for LGBTQ student game enthusiasts.

Members are encouraged to bring their own video games or board games to the or ganization’s casual weekly meetings. The executive board plans weekly themes in order to inspire members to collaborate and bring similar games. However, following the theme is not a rigid requirement.

Fazrian Prawiranata, president of GAYmerz and senior computer science major, explained the open environment that the organization aims to create.

“Regardless of what the members choose to do, we try to make sure fun is had during our meetings,” Prawiranata said.

In the past, meeting themes have included “what brings you joy,” obscure or forgot ten games, fighting games, party games and “chillax.” Common games that people bring to meetings for themselves or others to play include Splatoon 3, The Great Dalmuti, Su per Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Party, Just Shapes and Beats, Uno, Codenames and Coup.

Matthew Rowe, vice president of GAYmerz and senior English major, explained the im portance of the organization.

“Joining a club can be daunting, especially when it’s one with an established commu nity, but GAYmerz is all about welcoming new people … Anyone can join. Allies are more than welcome. Above all else, we’re here to give people a safe place to have fun,” Rowe said.

He also expressed his pride in the welcom ing environment that GAYmerz has built for LGBTQ students. He believes that the orga nization has established a community that would not have been possible otherwise.

“The connections between members are what I am personally most proud of. This semester alone we have cultivated a lovely group of incredible people that never would have gotten to know one another without GAYmerz,” Rowe said.

Rowe emphasized how important GAYmerz was to his own sense of belonging when he was an incoming freshman. As a cur rent senior and executive board member, he hopes that the organization will continue to maintain the same environment for incom ing freshmen.

“We essentially inherited it and have been doing our best to keep it alive and bring it up to the heights of when we first attended,” Rowe said.

GAYmerz hopes to provide a space that al lows students to have time to play their games

of choice and enjoy relaxing time with others after a long week of classes. Their members feel that having a safe community will help students to feel welcomed and comfortable during their time at UT.

GAYmerz is also working to implement community-based excursions outside of their traditional weekly meetings. Recently, the or ganization visited the Knox Pride parade as a group in place of their regular weekly meet ing. Although these creative meetings are currently rare occasions, Rowe hopes that they will occur more frequently over time.

Both Prawiranata and Rowe emphasize that the club is open to all sorts of gaming interest ranging from tabletop board games to Mario Party. He sees this openness as im portant to anyone who might be interested in sharing their passion for gaming with others in a casual, safe environment.

GAYmerz invites anyone who is interested in becoming a member to attend the weekly meetings on Fridays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in HSS 103B.

All information regarding the organiza tion and its meetings is communicated on the UTK GAYmerz Discord channel and the VOLink page. After joining the discord, new members are encouraged to read the orga nization’s rules and introduce themselves by stating their preferred name and pronouns in the chat.

Members of the student club GAYmerz pose outside Clancy’s Tavern on Gay Street. Courtesy of GAYmerz

Students perform at the All-Campus Theatre Musical Theatre Revue in the Student Union Au ditorium on April 29, 2022. Edward Cruz / The Daily Beacon

LGBTQ-friendly spaces at UT, in Knoxville

Living in the south, it can be difficult for members of the LGBTQ+ community to find spaces where they feel loved and accepted for who they are. The city of Knoxville, however, has many different opportunities to find spaces to engage in various social events that openly support people from all different backgrounds and identities.

SHELBY HANSEN Contributor

SOUTH PRESS COFFEE SHOP

is local co ee shop is owned and operated by Joslynn Fish, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and is a safe space for all. ey host many Pride events and are also eco-friendly. e walls sport many pride ags and a rming stickers, so this is a great place to go to study or grab a quick co ee for a pick-me-up!

THE PRIDE CENTER

e Pride Center is the best on-campus resource for queer students who are looking for a place of community. ey host events regularly and sponsor the Qloset, a clothing closet for queer students that need gender-afrming clothing, the LGBTQ+ Reading Group and a Peer Mentoring program

TYSON HOUSE AND UKIRK

ese on-campus ministries are both safe spaces for queer students looking to nd a place to worship that will accept them as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. ey provide gender- and sexuality-a rming Bible studies and sermons during their weekly schedules, which can be found on their respective websites.

Knox Pride has a community center that hosts a variety of events from movie nights to discussion groups and holiday events. ey also have plenty of social events to meet other people in the LGBTQ+ community.

Yassin’s is a local Mediterraneaninspired restaurant that has a variety of sandwiches, salads and other various items. It was opened by Syrian refugee Yassin Terou and serves as a safe space for people of all identities. e restaurant is critically acclaimed by many national news outlets.

Club XYZ is Knoxville’s most popular gay bar and all members of the LGBTQ+ community are welcome. Located on Central Street, the club hosts regular drag shows, trivia and bingo nights. ey also have karaoke and a dance oor, and they have been voted Best Gay Club in Knoxville for several years

CORE is a bar and grill in Knoxville that is locally owned by a LGBTQ+ couple. ey host drag shows every Friday through Monday and play sports on their televisions during the weekdays. Each week boasts a different dinner special schedule, and the club occasionally hosts poker nights and Singo.

Hard Knox Roller Girls, Lambda Car Club, Smokey Mountain Rollers Bowling League and e Knoxville Minx are all organizations that are safe spaces for queer people to come together and appreciate something that they love. ey include a rollerskating league, a car club, a bowling league and a rugby team.

File / The Daily Beacon

Daniel Dassow / The Daily Beacon

File / The Daily Beacon

UT’s Pride Index not so‘LGBTQ-unfriendly’

DANIEL DASSOW Editor-in-Chief

In the last year alone, UT rose from two out of five stars to four out of five stars on the Campus Pride Index, a research tool published each year by the non-profit educational organization Campus Pride and based on policies, programs and practices that support LGBTQ+ students.

Over the same year, UT took the top spot on the Princeton Review’s ranking of LGBTQ-unfriendly colleges, outpacing private Christian schools like Brigham Young University, College of the Ozarks and Grove City College.

The ranking, published in the Princeton Review’s popular annual college guidebook, has plagued the university’s reputation for years. This year is the first time UT has been named the least friendly college for LGBTQ students, after taking second place in 2020.

UT’s rapid progress on the Campus Pride Index, considered the nation’s leading metric for LGBTQ+ campus policy and practice, sets the methodologies of Campus Pride and the Princeton Review into sharp contrast.

Each university that participates in the Campus Pride Index answers 95 questions across eight categories, including student life and campus safety. The data is then submitted to Campus Pride, which calculates the index based on percentages that are not publicly available. UT’s four out of five index translates to a score of about 80%, double what it was in fall 2021.

The new score puts UT ahead of several SEC schools, including Auburn, LSU and South Carolina, which all have two and a half stars. The University of Kentucky has the highest index of any participating SEC school with five stars.

According to the Princeton Review’s website, its LGBTQ-unfriendly ranking is based on a single survey question which asks students how strongly they agree or disagree with the statement, “Students treat all persons equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.”

The university has attempted to distance itself from the ranking by pointing to the Campus Pride Index.

“We are committed to being a campus where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and supported. The Princeton Review survey does not accurately reflect the progress we have made and the important work that continues on our campus,” a statement from the university reads. “The Campus Pride Index, which called the Princeton Review rankings ‘deeply flawed,’ is a more comprehensive view of campus life.”

The index was created by Shane Windmeyer, executive director and founder of Campus Pride. Though the Princeton Review ranking attempts to measure campus climate through student perceptions, he believes it falls short in part because it includes the voices of students outside the LGBTQ community.

“It’s like having a piece of candy and getting a

Students line up at the Student Union Ballroom for check-in at Pride Prom on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. Ericksen Gomez-Villeda / The Daily Beacon

really high sugar high, but it’s all false and fake. Because anything that asks one question and creates a data set pretending to know the answers is flawed in my opinion,” Windmeyer told the Daily Beacon.

The index data set includes subscores for a range of areas. UT’s highest score is five stars for LGBTQ Support and Institutional Commitment. Its lowest score is two and a half stars for LGBTQ Counseling and Health.

The index is a benchmark tool which helps universities pinpoint areas for improvement. Between 2018 and 2019, 80% of participating schools saw improvement in at least one area.

Campus Pride also maintains a “Worst List,” which flags campuses that exclude openly queer students from enrollment and engagement, or exempt LGBTQ students from Title IX protections. Nine Tennessee colleges are on the list, all of them private Christian institutions.

Unlike the Princeton Review, Campus Pride is a nonprofit organization and does not sell its data. The “388 Best Colleges, 2023” guide, which lists UT as the least LGBTQ-friendly college in the nation, retails for $24.99.

“The Princeton Review is basically a commercial profiteering organization that’s trying to operate as an educational entity, but in reality, these rankings are meant to create money for someone or something, right? To create more clicks on a website. So I’m not really a fan,” Windmeyer said.

While the Campus Pride Index measures social infrastructure, Windmeyer said the work of measuring perception remains vital.

In 2017, UT hired independent consulting firm Rankin and Associates, specialists in campus climate research led by Sue Rankin, to survey students and produce a climate report. The report, published in January 2018, listed “exclusionary, intimidating, offensive, and/or hostile conduct” towards students based on sexual identity as a key area of improvement for the university.

During the fall 2020 semester, 11 UT students formed the LGBTQ+ Student Advisory Board to advise Chancellor Donde Plowman and her cabinet on ways to improve life for LGBTQ students.

The advisory board recommended several policy changes, including a simplified process

for transgender students to change their name in school systems and mental health and advising services specified to the needs of LGBTQ students.

UT’s progress in the ranking indicates policy changes across campus units, a commitment reaffirmed by Chancellor Plowman and UT President Randy Boyd in a town hall meeting last fall following Boyd’s support for anti-LGBTQ state senator Mark Pody. Boyd pulled his support from a fundraiser for Pody following pushback from the campus community.

Isabelle Marshall was one of the 11 students who began advising administrators on LGBTQ issues. Marshall, who graduated in 2022 and now works as a product management program assistant at Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C., saw the Princeton Review ranking when she was applying to colleges and was discouraged.

After researching the Campus Pride Index, however, she saw a fuller picture of how UT could improve.

“I don’t want to say that UT is great for LGBTQ students because, especially compared to other schools, it could be a lot better still,” Marshall said. “But hopefully, they will see and be able to know that UT can be a great place for LGBTQ students, that there are spaces for them.”

Those spaces include the Pride Center, which was recently moved to a central campus location at the Student Union and provides year-round support and programming for LGBTQ students.

UT’s scores for LGBTQ Counseling and Health and LGBTQ Housing and Resident Life remain low, but staff and faculty see ways of moving forward, including a full campus climate study.

“The work ahead is getting more services that can help not only to address mental health distress, but services that can proactively and prophylactically address mental wellness among the LGBTQ+ community on campus,” said Leticia Flores, director of the UT Psychological Clinic and a former co-chair of the Commission for LGBT People at UT.

For a university reliant on a state legislature frequently at odds with LGBTQ students and LGBTQ rights, UT’s rapid progress in key policy and program areas signals a new chapter in the campus climate for queer students, staff and faculty.

Faculty allies fill gap where standard resources are hard to find

ABBY ANN RAMSEY Managing Editor

what happened after class when the teacher stopped her, addressing what had happened.

“She said it quietly like she was scared, she said, ‘thank you.’” Mecdeki said. “And that touched me a little bit, but at the same time it kind of terrified me. She was terrified to thank me for reminding people of the human condi tion not being limited to one’s whiteness and their straightness.

“She was so scared to just say two words to me.”

Mecdeki said she went from being the 9-year-old who read Shakespeare to the Eng lish student excluded from group projects. With those softly spoken words, the professor became the only person she felt a connection with.

While Mecdeki, a junior vocal music major, felt dismissed that day in her English class, she said she has not had that same experience in most of her classes. She spends most of her time in the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, where she said faculty and friends welcome her with open arms and serve as a resource to her. She specifically referenced one professor who offered support by giving out his personal phone number.

Mecdeki recognizes that that sort of support can potentially put a professor in a danger ous situation. But to her, that’s just one way of showing faculty can show support for the LG BTQ community.

ars program comes with the perk of having a faculty mentor who knows the more personal details of their life. While they are grateful for that, Beatty said this method of support can present a challenge for many.

“Not everyone feels comfortable like going to office hours and reaching out individually to professors, like that does take a little bit of agency,” Beatty said.

Edward Cruz / The Daily Beacon

Rachel Mecdeki grew up loving English classes. Her mom was an English teacher, and she said that in another life, she would have majored in journalism. English classes were always her strong suit, and they made her feel comfortable.

That was until she took English 102 her freshman year at UT, and one of the classes was spent discussing minority rights. Mecdeki, a non-white woman who identifies as a mem ber of the queer community, said she felt dis missed by her fellow students, so she stood up for herself.

Mecdeki doesn’t remember who her profes sor was at the time, but she remembers exactly

On a college campus that has been ranked the No. 1 most unfriendly toward LGBTQ stu dents and that faces the pressure of a legisla ture that has defunded the Pride Center, mem bers of the LGBTQ community find themselves searching for resources and belonging through the help of UT faculty.

Looking for LGBTQ resources solely through the internet might not yield many results. Ci ara Gazway, a coordinator for Bias Education in the Office of the Dean of Students, says this is not necessarily indicative of an actual lack of resources, though.

Forging connections with people in the Pride Center or the Dean of Students Office, Ciara said, is helpful to finding care. But even if connections are not specifically with people in those offices, she said relationships with any faculty on campus can be integral to getting support.

Aleksandr McGovern, a junior political sci ence major and chair of SGA’s environment and sustainability committee, said his experi ences of being supported by faculty as a mem ber of the LGBTQ community have not been this explicit.

“They never go out of their way to say, ‘hey like if you are a person who identifies as some one in the LGBTQ community and you need anything, like I’m here for you,’” McGovern said. “I’ve never had a professor do that.”

While McGovern said that outright state ment is lacking in the classroom, he has found that going out of his way to talk to “outgoing” professors leads to him finding support.

Finding allies in faculty members requires actively seeking that relationship, according to Ryan Beatty, a junior narrative and compara tive border studies major in the College Schol ars program and a leader of the student orga nization Students for Migrant Justice.

Beatty said that being in the College Schol

Tennessee’s decisions to investigate Sex Week and defund the Pride Center point to a legislative pressure on both administration and faculty to be careful of what they say and do, even when students feel so unsupported that UT earned its current spot on the Princ eton Review’s list.

While some professors might not explicitly state it, Beatty says LGBTQ support is clear in other ways, like in the “Safe Space” magnets in their faculty mentor’s office.

Gazaway explained that small steps like those magnets are signs of people trying to create change, even if they’re not overthrow ing the entire system.

“Because of the way that we know change to come about and all that kind of stuff, that’s why you maybe don’t see the risks, but that doesn’t mean the work isn’t happening,” Gaz away said.

And that change might mean going to a pro fessor to ask about transgender healthcare re sources because you see on Canvas that they’re Safe Zone certified. An underwhelming Google search does not mean all hope is lost, according to Gazaway.

“If you can’t go in the front door, find a win dow,” Gazaway said.

Tennessee passes slate of bills targeting LGBTQ community

Chief

The state of Tennessee is becoming a less hospitable place for LGBTQ people to live af ter a suite of legislation has limited educa tion, healthcare and basic human rights. In a ranking by USA Today comparing the best and worst states for LGBTQ people, Tennessee ranked 42 out of 50.

The current governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, passed five anti-LGBTQ laws in 2021 alone, laws which many believe will undermine the progress put forth to make the United States a more safe and welcoming place for the LGBTQ community.

This year, Lee will face Democratic guber natorial candidate Jason Martin, an ICU physi cian from Nashville, in the midterm elections on Nov. 8. Martin is a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community in Tennessee.

The state’s anti-LGBTQ bills can cause harm to LGBTQ youth and can stunt their develop ment, both academically and mentally. Here’s a breakdown of a few of them.

Restrictions on Trans Healthcare

Effective since May 21, 2021, Senate Bill (SB) 126 restricts healthcare providers from prescribing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prepubescent, transgender minors.

HRT is a medication that contains female hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone and progestin. It is typically administered to wom en who are experiencing menopause as a way to relieve their menopausal symptoms.

Hormone therapy is also used as genderaffirming care to transgender individuals, in cluding minors or youth who have not yet un dergone puberty. Hormone treatment allows transgender individuals to alter their body to feel more comfortable in their own skin.

This bill significantly decreases the avail ability of gender-affirming care for minors, despite studies showing that transgender in dividuals who started hormone treatment as minors had better mental health than those who started as adults or did not start HRT at all.

Restrictions on School Sports

Bill SB 0228, signed into law on March 26,

2021, requires that students in public middle schools and high schools must play on sports teams that correlate with their birth sex. This bill excludes transgender students from play ing on teams that align with their gender iden tity.

Student athletes must provide their birth certificate as evidence of their birth sex.

This bill reflects an ongoing debate of whether transgender athletes should play on sports teams that align with their gender iden tity. People who disapprove of transgender athletes typically rely on the “biological sex” standpoint and argue that it is unfair to cisgen der athletes because of the “anatomic, physi ologic advantages that a transitioned woman has over a biological woman.”

On the flip side, people who wish to include transgender athletes on sports teams that align with their identity believe that the biological sex standpoint is misogynistic. They also argue that it invalidates a person’s identity to force them to play on a sports team that does not match their gender identity.

Gov. Lee sides with the biological sex argu ment, and is quoted as saying that allowing transgender women athletes to play on wom

en’s sports teams would “destroy women’s sports.”

Opt-Out of LGBTQ Education

Effective since May 5, 2021, Gov. Lee also signed bill SB 1229 that requires schools to no tify parents about gender identity and sexual orientation curriculum and allows parents to opt their children out of learning about this curriculum.

The opt-out also extends to historical events and figures who are relevant to these topics, including events such as the AIDS epidemic or the Stonewall riots.

This bill approves of the limiting of impor tant LGBTQ history and education to all public school students, as well as “disproportionately disadvantages LGBTQ youth who may not have supportive families and puts children at great er risk of health consequences,” according to the Human Rights Campaign.

For LGBTQ students on campus, the Pride Center, VolOUT and Lambda Law Society, as well as campus ministries UKirk and Tyson House all commit to being inclusive, advocat ing spaces for all.

OLIVIA HAYES

Opinion: How do Tennessee politicians impact UT?

tion. Paired with the “abstinence only” curriculum that is allowed to be taught when discussing sexual health in schools, students are completely disadvantaged when exiting the public school system. These bills not only threaten young people’s current physical and mental wellbeing, it threatens their future and potential to have safe and up to date information about their own bodies.

stitution. Although the request to open Hillsdale-affiliated schools in Tennessee has now been withdrawn, it is telling that legislators would rather impose a highly controversial and borderline racist curriculum rather than to provide educators with the resources they actually ask for.

LILY MARCUM Opinions Editor

Tennessee has been subject to Gov. Bill Lee’s anti-LGBTQ agenda since 2019, but the longterm ramifications of legislation have yet to be fully unraveled.

The strategy seen most frequently in recent years has been to target the public school curriculum. In 2021, Gov. Lee signed Senate Bill 1229 which requires school districts to notify parents before “providing a sexual orientation curriculum or gender identity curriculum” in any kind of instruc-

Tennessee ranks 10th highest for teen birth rates and 15th for the annual number of STI cases. Not to mention that youth ages 15-24 account for almost half of STIs that occur in the United States, according to the CDC.

In addition, there was confirmation earlier this year that Gov. Lee planned to partner with Hillsdale College to create more charter schools, which are public schools operated by independent, non-profit governing bodies. Spokesperson Casey Black explained that “Hillsdale is involved in a number of initiatives that align with our priorities in Tennessee.”

Hillsdale College is an openly conservative liberal arts school that promotes children be taught that the civil rights movement was not the true intention of the nation’s founders and that laws against discrimination violate the spirit of the Con-

With a historically large enrollment year, these decisions affect the University of Tennessee more than ever. 74% of undergraduates are from the state of Tennessee, meaning that 74% of students at UT have witnessed the mayhem Tennessee legislators have unleashed in regards to public education and the continuous attack on LGBTQ Tennesseans. Students are coming to college unprepared and uneducated about the diversity that exists in the world.

Tennessee lawmakers have historically bombarded any efforts the university has put forth in an attempt to support LGBTQ students. In 2016, Tennessee lawmakers defunded the Pride Center after a controversy about pronouns and also implemented severe restrictions on how money could be spent on inclusiveness. With all of this combined, it’s no question how we were ranked the most unfriendly university to LGBTQ students in the country by The Princeton Review

I mean, how are LGBTQ students sup-

The Path Forward: Being queer on campus

simple fact.

However, The Princeton Review’s study’s methodology is flawed and is lacking a threedimensional view of our campus. It is a simple survey, asking dozens of questions regarding various fields, and the ranking of LGBTQunfriendly campuses is based on individuals’ agreement or disagreement with one question: “Students treat all persons equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression.”

The simple question is, should we hold this survey in as high a regard as we do? The simple answer is no, we shouldn’t.

Our chancellor, our dean of students, and many other busy, high-ranking officials took the time to listen to students and implement recommendations. Students and officials from all over campus worked together to create a better campus, enacting new policies ranging from gender inclusive housing options, streamlined ways for trans and nonbinary students to correct their names and gender identities on our online platforms, LGBTQ scholarships and more. Now, if one looks at our score on the Campus Pride Index, they would see that we have improved.

posed to feel when our university’s president donated to a campaign that was bluntly against LGBTQ rights and even filed proposals to strip marriage rights from LGBTQ people? President Boyd has since apologized, but the point remains that his actions and even the fact that he is allowed to be the president of a public university after being a political candidate are a product of the system Tennessee legislators have created.

This LGBTQ History Month, it’s important to recognize and call out the ways in which our legislators have continuously failed us in our education and the safety of our peers. Their actions are unjustifiable and do not reflect the core values of Tennesseans or UT students. As a student body we must continue to educate ourselves and hold those in charge accountable.

Lily Marcum is a junior at UT this year studying journalism, political science and philosphy. She can be reached at lmarcum1@vols.utk.edu

Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.

Ultimately, is our campus friendly to the LGBTQ community? That depends on who you ask. Every queer person has a different experience, no one the same. My opinion as a cisgender, white queer person is very different from the experiences of others. Every queer person, on our campus or not, can tell you times they have been discriminated against, times they have been called a slur or been made to feel lesser than simply because of their identities.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is currently ranked by the Princeton Review as the most unfriendly college campus in the country for LGBTQ students.

Every year that I have been on campus, I hear about The Princeton Review study, which has consistently positioned our university as extremely unfriendly to the LGBTQ community. But is that true?

First and foremost, it is important to note that anywhere and everywhere in our country, queer individuals face discrimination in ways no other community does. It is also important to note that the intersections of one’s identities will create unique obstacles, such as the ones that queer people of color face. In no way should we, or anyone, attempt to negate that

In the fall semester of 2020, I along with several other students were tasked with writing a report for our campus’s administration finding a new methodology to gauge our community’s receptiveness to the queer community, and create recommendations to make our campus more accommodating.

We found the Campus Pride Index, and, to not much shock and awe, our LGBTQ friendliness score there wasn’t much better. But the Campus Pride Index gave us a much more holistic view of our campus and areas that we could improve upon, from housing to academic life and campus safety. And, the integral piece to this puzzle was the collaboration between a small group of students and our administration.

This is still, by all senses, a work in progress. In fact, the work put into making our campus a safer and more inclusive environment is work that is never done. But one of the most important lessons I learned from this process is that there are people on this campus who truly care about one another.

It is easy to get wrapped up in attentiongrabbing headlines, such as the ones generated from The Princeton Review study. It is easy to get disheartened and distracted, to write our campus off as just another bigoted and discriminatory institution that resists change and progress. But, having had the opportunity and privilege to work alongside incredible student leaders and campus administrators, I learned that there are people willing to put in the time and dedication to improve our university.

But the point is, we cannot simply give up because of bigoted people and a study with questionable methodology. No amount of work or reports or studies will end discrimination. But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make our campus the best it possibly can be for the next generation of students.

Most importantly, do not give up on our campus. We are, like so many great things, a work in progress. We are not perfect, and we probably never will be. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything we can to be as perfect as possible. Don’t count us out just yet.

EVAN MAYS Columnist

Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.

Evan Mays is a senior at UT studying social work. He can be reached at emays4@vols.utk.edu

Women’s Coordinating Council educates, promotes LGBTQ inclusivity

EMMA COFFEY Arts and Culture Editor

Decades after its start in the 1960s, UT’s Women’s Coordinating Council (WCC) is still thriving on campus and working towards its mission of empowering people from all backgrounds by engaging the student body through annual events.

WCC has four driving pillars: anti-racism, reproductive justice, LGBTQ inclusivity and gender equity.

The organization hosts multiple events throughout the year to achieve these goals, such as “Take Back the Night,” where the group raises awareness for sexual assault and fosters a sense of community by hosting resource fairs, silent marches and guest speakers.

Other events encourage self-expression and discovery. “Femissance” is a feminist art show that features pieces highlighting expressions of gender and sexuality. “Knox Monologues” is an event that explores the group’s four pillars through performances.

Senior Mariah Webb, programming and activism liaison for WCC, said that she hopes their events highlight their four pillars and provide opportunities for education in the community.

“To me, WCC is an inclusive space where like-minded people can come together and work towards a common goal,” Webb said.

WCC also advocates for these pillars through educational social media posts and collaborations with other organizations both on and off campus, such as Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee and YWCA Knoxville.

Amanda Knopps, a senior majoring in chem-

ical engineering, is the current president of WCC.

“My goal as president this year is to make WCC more inclusive, accessible and impactful. I hope that everyone feels safe and understood when interacting with the events we host and the information we provide, and that no one is afraid to ask us questions or talk to us,” Knopps said.

While WCC is an organization that focuses on women, it also emphasizes LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Knopps described what this specific pillar represents for them.

“We seek to elevate the voices of those in the LGBTQ community through our work, sources and within our organization,” Knopps said.

Knopps said that they try to achieve LGTBQ inclusivity by empowering and educating members and those on campus, and attempting to understand people’s differences as well as similarities.

“This allows us to foster meaningful discussion and understand where everyone is coming from. We encourage everyone, not just heterosexual, cisgender women, to apply and give your perspective and opinion on what we do and what you would like to see from us as a club,” Knopps said.

This semester, WCC hosted “Take Back the Night” on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20. WCC is also planning on having several smaller educational events, including professor talks, panels and collaborations with other organizations on campus, such as Students for Migrant Justice, and in the local community.

The organization is currently accepting applications to join as a general body member. The application can be found on their Instagram and Twitter @wccutk.

WORSHIP GUIDE

On October 19, 2022 the Women’s Coordinating Council of UTK hosts its annual ‘Take Back the Night’ resource fair, in an e�ort to “build solidarity and reclaim the night” for survivors and victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Alexandra Ashmore / The Daily Beacon

Knoxville’s National Embryo Donation Center rejects LGBTQ couples wanting children

FRANCES SEITERS Contributor

The National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) located in Knoxville markets itself as the nation’s most comprehensive non-profit embryo donation program and has received national media attention for its work on em bryo adoption.

But on the question of who can adopt an embryo, nestled into the organization’s FAQ, is a stunning stipulation: only heterosexual, cisgender couples married for a minimum of three years can adopt from the NEDC.

The organization is transparent in its Christian beliefs. Jeffrey Keenan, professor and director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at UT Medical Center, serves as president of the NEDC. In a statement to The Daily Beacon, Keenan said his employment by the public university system did not prevent his leadership role with the NEDC.

“The United States Supreme Court has made it clear that being a state government employ ee does not negate a citizen’s freedom to pub licly practice and express deeply held religious beliefs, particularly in contexts outside of their government employment,” Keenan said.

John Gordon, an infertility specialist at UT Medical, is a physician on staff at the NEDC.

The requirements to adopt an embryo come from the NEDC’s stated Christian beliefs. Mark Mellinger, marketing and development direc tor for the NEDC, said the group is concerned primarily with honoring God’s design as stated in the Bible.

“The reason is not animus toward any body,” NEDC marketing and development director Mark Mellinger said. “The reason our board decided that that would be the standard is because we’re a Christian organization and the historic orthodox was the union of one man and one woman. We believe that honors God to hold that standard.”

Struggles with infertility touch across so many people, but gay or transgender couples are often excluded from even getting the chance to fix the problem.

Same-sex marriage was legalized on the federal level in 2015, but this doesn’t stop cou ples from thinking about the possible rejection or discrimination they could face in seeking help to build a family.

A. Cappanola, a child and family studies graduate who received their doctorate at UT, researches same-gender couples wanting to adopt or undergo IVF. They spoke to 18 indi viduals representing same-gender couples specifically in the southeast about their expe riences building a family.

Cappanola found that no one was rejected outright, but the looming possibility of rejec tion was enough for couples to decide to not go forward. They reported Christian influence was strong throughout the U.S. and many of the same-gender couples they spoke to were Christians themselves. But as their interpre tation of Christianity is different from the NEDC’s, the sense of exclusion remains.

“They were like, ‘I hate that my religion is being used as a tool to deny me the right to a family because I have faith, I go to church, I participate in this community,’” Cappanola said. “They felt like it was being used against them in some kind of way, and it felt like a be trayal in a lot of ways.”

Cappanola said that these couples were brought up in the southern traditional Chris tian household just as many others.

They spoke of another couple with a per spective on whether all organizations had to serve everyone, even the people they didn’t want to help.

“With those organizations that say ‘we won’t serve same-gender couples,’ they were like, ‘I almost don’t want a law to make them serve us because if they don’t want to serve us then I don’t want them involved in building my family,’” Cappanola said. “That’s a very silver lining perspective that I really appreciated.”

There is an acceptance from LGBTQ couples that comes from this exclusion that organi zations have a choice to participate in. Giving organizations that choice weeds out who is genuinely there to assist same-gender couples with welcoming arms.

Even though the couples Cappanola spoke to didn’t run into any barriers, there are those who do. Cappanola said they probably didn’t want to speak to them because the experience was so painful, but the barriers definitely exist.

“In places like Tennessee, the needle doesn’t get moved until it does at a federal level when the state is just agreeing to follow some kind of federal ruling, it means there is this lag sort of where it’s like okay this is the rule now but you have to get people to buy into it and to catch up on all these little things,” Cappanola said.

Even though the NEDC is the largest embryo donation center in the country, there are dona tion and adoption groups that are accessible in east Tennessee for same-gender couples, such as the American Embryo Adoption Agency, Tennessee Fertility Institute and the Knoxville Fertility Clinic.

“There are other embryo donation and adoption groups who will adopt to LGBTQ families, and that’s one positive thing about the movement , that the more it is proliferated, the more options have expanded and that’s life in a free country,” Mellinger said.

Pride Center reading group celebrates queer narratives in diverse setting

MACY ROBERTS Staff Writer

Since fall 2020, the Pride Center’s LGBTQ+ Reading Group has provided a space for UT students, staff and faculty to connect through stories revolving around gender, sexuality and LGBTQ themes.

For the fall 2022 semester, the LGBTQ+ Reading Group is discussing “Marriage of a Thousand Lies” by SJ Sindu. This debut novel introduces the story of Kishna and Lucky, two gay Sri-Lankan Americans that remain in het erosexual marriages in order avoid conflict with their conservative families.

Over the course of the novel, Lucky returns to her hometown, where she rebuilds a rela tionship with her former friend and lover, Ni sha. As a result of reconnecting and learning more about Nisha’s arranged marriage, Lucky begins to heavily consider whether or not the risk of disappointing her family outweighs the benefit of living life as her true, authentic self.

Free copies of “Marriage of a Thousand

Lies” were available to those who registered earlier this semester, but new members are still encouraged to join the upcoming discus sion with their own copies.

Members of the LGBTQ+ Reading Group are expected to finish each selected read over the course of a semester. The discussions take place once before the end of the semester in a Zoom format to discuss thoughts and key takeaways.

According to Ari Hill, a second-year master’s student in social work, some discussions have even invited the authors themselves.

Two years ago, Hill found out about the LG BTQ+ Reading Group through an Instagram post and newsletter.

“I set out to get back into reading for plea sure,” Hill said. “I found out about the reading group and decided this would be a great way to ease back into reading for fun instead of strictly academic readings.”

Sonja Burk, a student success advisor within the department of biosystems engineering, has also been with the LGBTQ+ Reading Group for a couple of years. So far, her favorite read has

been “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler, the group’s spring 2022 selection.

“My motivation is twofold,” Burk said. “I love to read and I wanted to grow personally with the LGBTQ community.”

Burk also shared that her viewpoint varies quite a bit from others within the group given that she’s older than most members and iden tifies as heterosexual.

“I don’t want to say I feel accepted but I’m not excluded either,” Burk said. “I think I’m viewed simply as another member with a viewpoint. I’m good with that.”

The LGBTQ+ Reading Group invites people of all backgrounds and identities with the pur pose of calling attention to perspectives that have been ignored throughout history.

“Members of the UT community should participate in the reading group to engage in dialogue about the books, have an opportu nity to diversify their reading and bookshelf, participate in self-care and possibly fall in love with reading again,” Hill said.

Seven different stories have been discussed during the group’s two years of operation, with the hopes of many more to come.

The National Embryo Donation Center, located on Kingston Pike, helps heterosexual married couples adopt unused embryos. Alexandra Ashmore / The Daily Beacon

The Pride Center’s reading group discusses LGBTQ-centered novels. File / The Daily Beacon

PhD candidate by day, drag queen by night

FAITHE LAMPE Contributor

You may see them walking to class or maybe getting their favorite “pick-me-up” in the Einstein’s line, but did you know you were in the presence of a queen?

Boomer Russell is a fourth year PhD candidate studying biochemistry. Their day-to-day entails countless hours at the Ken and Blaire Mossman Building, but they spend their nights participating in an art form you may not have expected a PhD candidate could possibly have time for: drag. Her stage name is “Fatty Acid.”

Drag began as early as the age of Shakespearean theater, when a male actor would play a female role. The art form has now transformed into a wildly popular media sensation through social media influencers and shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race. It continues as a form of self-expression allowing a sense of fluidity and freedom for the LGBTQ+ community.

Russell defines drag from their own experiences, and how it has allowed them to explore a

different part of themselves.

“I have a big feminine side I just recently started to harness and I feel like drag was a very hyperactive way to do that,” Russell said. “I’ve been in grad school for so long

yearning for an outlet outside of school, because everything I’ve done my entire life has been centered around that. Where drag is purely for me an escape, a very fun way for me to be a part of our queer community in Knoxville.”

The name “Fatty Acid” originated from, and you might have guessed, science. Russell is a membrane protein biophysicist who studies lipid membranes and the proteins that reside inside of them, including fatty acids.

“When I was thinking of names, I wanted it to be ‘sciency’ because it’s my whole personality, and eventually I would love to do some science related drag ‘world’s collide’ kind of thing,” Russell said.

Though Fatty Acid made her debut at CORE on Kingston Pike four months ago, Russell remembers their first show like it was yesterday. This particular show was an open stage called “Monday Night Madness” and was centered around welcoming new queens to the stage.

It was a night that changed Russell’s life forever. They didn’t grow up in theater or practice dance like most queens, but they fell in love with dance through their Xbox Connect playing Dance Central growing up. They knew there was a queen waiting to be unleashed.

“Once I started doing drag it really opened up new things, there was a flood of new people to meet,” Russell said. “My confidence began to build.” Photo courtesy of Boomer Russell

hobbling around thinking that I just owned the place. Because when you are on that stage ... you think you are the hottest person on the planet,” Russell said. “And that just fuels you throughout the whole performance and then you leave stage and you’re like ‘what did I just do?’”

One of their fondest memories of the night was the overwhelming reassurance and love that permeated the atmosphere around the stage. The applause rang through the bar and Fatty Acid won her first competition. The possibilities of this new world that opened for her felt endless.

since I’ve had as much fun as I do when I watch Fatty. Fatty works hard and has a ton of drive, but it’s the fun that makes her feel fresh and invites us into her world. She makes you root for her and we really needed that in her town.”

By June 13, 2022, they had practiced their make-up for months, refining every detail for their debut. From the track list, to the choreography, to the costume, everything was in place. What Russell couldn’t prepare for was

there was a queen waiting to be unleashed. make-up for months, refining every detail for the nerves.

The art of drag is learning what works best for the queen and how they want to express themselves. Being a student who works at the Mossman building has its perks when practicing drag. Russel found two couch cushions behind the building one day after working and used it for their costume in their performance.

“I went to work in Mossman, and wanted to throw up all day. I was anxious, I was freaking out, I was thinking about the songs and choreography I wanted to do for months. I was stressing about my wig falling off and all of these little things,” Russell said.

out, I was thinking about the songs and chostressing about my wig falling off and all of

“I got the couch cushions and a turkey carver and another queen helped me draw a hip pad form and I made them and frankly that did my body good. In drag everybody’s body is valid and everybody’s drag is different but it is important to build a body in drag,” Russell said.

When the moment arrived, and Fatty Acid was going to make her big reveal, she said her mind was filled with a million different thoughts at once. The DJ announced her name, the music began, the red velvet curtain opened quickly, and Fatty Acid stepped forward into the spotlight.

When the moment arrived, and Fatty Acid was her mind was filled with a million different thoughts at once. The DJ announced her name, the music began, the red velvet curtain opened the spotlight.

“I remember doing this really silly cartwheel, because my goal was to do a cartwheel on stage and it was not cute and I was just

“Yes my work takes a lot of brain power and so does drag ... good drag is very smart drag. Because your whole career is based on the applause from strangers in the crowd.”

Harri Scari, a queen that has been in the drag scene for five years, was judging a local amateur drag competition the first time she saw Fatty Acid perform.

“My first impression was that this person was a ball of absolute chaotic mess, fully and thoroughly entertaining because of it,” Scari said. “I think that Fatty is a breath of fresh air. There are other entertainers in town who might be more polished, but it’s been a while

Although Fatty Acid’s rise in the drag world came easy due to their bubbly nature, worlds began to collide when they had to learn to balance their school life and their life as a performer. One of the biggest challenges Russell faced was how to persevere against burnout.

Russell’s day to day schedule involves arriving at school at 8 a.m. and staying until 3 or 4 p.m., depending on the day. Then they start to prepare at 8 p.m. for their drag show at 11 p.m.

“Yes my work takes a lot of brain power and so does drag ... good drag is very smart drag.”

Boomer Russell PhD candidate and drag queen

Boomer Russell is a membrane protein biophysicist. But once they leave the Mossman building, they become “Fatty Acid,” a new queen on the block with a “thoroughly entertaining”style.

“Balancing the two is hard and I am trying to work that out now. I used to be really afraid of not being able to do drag. So any chance I could do drag I would, and that was a lot. I’m learning to take a step back and say no. I started to prioritize certain days to myself,” Russell said. Russell’s influence has cascaded out of the drag world and into the campus at UT. Jake Johns, also known as Astrid, is a senior studying journalism and electronic media and a new arrival on the drag scene. Russell and Johns have bonded over their love of drag and learning how to navigate their responsibilities as students and as queens.

“Boomer is one of the most amazing people I have ever met,” Johns said. “They are constantly supportive and will ride or die for you. As someone else who has recently started drag, it’s really nice to have someone I appreciate so much to grow with in this community.”

Russell’s experience in drag has changed their entire outlook on Knoxville’s LGBTQ community.

“I felt very disjointed from the community.

There was a lot of self-sabotaging. I didn’t go places or try to meet people. I am actually really insecure and shy. Once I started doing drag it really opened up new things, there was a flood of new people to meet,” Russell said. “I got more validation and got new perspectives and my confidence began to build, build, build. I feel so much more in tune with this community. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t win that finale in my first competition.”

Boomer Russell has proven that success can come in many different ways. After recently publishing their first paper and kickstarting their drag career, they are eager to explore what the future holds.

“When you’re a student you are so hyperfocused on the goal, which is getting a degree or getting a paper published and now that I’ve seen that school isn’t the only thing I should be working on, because it’s not the only thing I love, it’s all very relevant,” Russell said. “It’s all a part of your person and your ability to maintain happiness.”

Pride History Word Search

Stonewall March on Washington

Marriage Equality

Marsha P. Johnson

Sylvia Riveria October

Harvey Milk

Obergefell v Hodges

Rodney Wilson Queer Pride

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

crossword solution

MA CE SEE D AVE

ID OL SNAR ES GE T

LL AH ASSEE IR E ER E CO RE WI ND S

AL LC HA NG E

APE L HO RN

LL S PE NDU LU M

AI FR AM E EASE

NT AL US UND ER PR AM EL DE R

EE TP OT AT O

N PA RR ER G

N APPE LL AT IO N

D SC ON ES AR IA

Y T ESS PE LT

Top: Boomer Russell, a 4th year PhD candidate in biophysics, presents research on membranes.

Russell pictured on a visit to Times Square in New York City, a destination city for drag performances. Photos courtesy of Boomer Russell