2023 inaugural QT Ball
Out of this world night presented by USD QTs
RONNIE SAENZ / CONTRIBUTOR / THE USD VISTA
A long time ago in a University Center forum far, far away… (On April 28) the Queer and Trans Student Union (QTs) held their inaugural QT ball with an intergalactic theme.
The ball featured live drag show performances by Amber St. James, Less Than Three dance crew (LT3) performances, a student vogue (a dance that imitates catwalk poses) contest, a live DJ, a photo booth and red carpet all held in University Center (UC) Forum C.
The whole ball was filled with alien aesthetics and neon lighting, creating a memorable night for many USD students.
The excitement leading up to the event was due in part to the advertising put on by QTs, such as their poster ads featuring the movie cover of “Alien” or their cinematic “E.T.” inspired movie trailer advertising the ball.
Many USD students and community members anticipated this extraterrestrial event for weeks, especially former Black Student Union Treasurer and USD senior Tom Padinske.
“I’m a big fan of parody, and they’ve been doing that in their promotional material as well with little ‘E.T.’ parody video,” Padinske proclaimed.
“I’m all for it. It’s kinda queer coding [the subtextual coding of characters in media as queer] a bunch of movies that weren’t all that queer coded, which is kind of a fun twist on it.”
Many were excited that the Superstar Ball happened, especially after the cancellation of last semester’s annual Supreme Drag Superstar drag show because of difficulty securing a venue and a lack of performers.
Padinske commented on the importance of a space like the QT ball on campus.
“I think it has to do with having a space on campus that’s primarily organized by students, for the sake of a completely student-run event,” Padinske said. “I know from my time as treasurer on the BSU and being in like different leadership positions on campus, it’s hard to even get a space on campus.”
A lot of planning and preparation went into the QT ball. Co-president of USD QTs and organizers of the QT ball, Marco Ren, pitched in his feelings leading up to the event.
“This night’s going to be a movie,” exclaimed Ren. “This is something USD needs and is lacking as well. This is an event by queer and trans students for queer and trans students and allies too.”
The ball was filled with other worldly props such as neon signs shaped like aliens, inflatable flying saucers and abducted balloon cows.
Among the decorations was a cosmic themed red carpet where ball-goers received photos from photographers and photo booths. Co-president of USD QTs and organizer of the QT ball, Camille Torre went more in depth on the work put into the ball’s aesthetic.
“We want to make sure students take advantage of what we have and poured so much time into,” Torre said. “We have a great team that is able to work where they can, but at the end of the day we learned how to do the entire system. Luckily with the help from our advisor, Kate Thomas, who is literally incredible.”
There were many performances that night, between Amber St. James and the LT3 dance crew, ball-goers were ecstatic. USD senior and director of LT3 Katrina Baha commented on LT3’s performances.
“We will be performing our ‘bad b****’ set, or officially our ‘spring set,’ and it consists of all the queens, all the idols,” said Baha. “We’re gonna have ‘Low’ by SZA, ‘Feeling Myself’ by Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé and ‘[B****] Better Have My Money’ by Rihanna.”
Between the performances, props and theming many students were excited for the event. Especially for many USD students, this would be their first time at a USD LGBTQ+ community-led ball at this scale.
“Especially because the drag show wasn’t available to students last semester, it’s even more important that this is involving everyone. Especially for graduating students,” Torre commented. “I also want students to look forward to next year, I want them to leave and look forward to next year and look forward to this happening.”
As highly anticipated as the QT ball was, some people were sabotaging the A Frames advertising the ball. Ren was especially upset about the sabotage, calling out the vandals.
“I think it’s important to note it wasn’t just stealing,” said Ren. “Some of them ripped it off, and also today we found another one where they ripped it off again and we fixed them and it was in the bushes a couple feet away. We also noticed some of the flyers that were put on cork boards around campus were taken down as well.
USD QT posted a statement on their Instagram about the assault on their ads, and it quickly became their most engaged post, garnering support from all over the USD community, such as @jwmagellan, who said, “Well said! You have the support of many faculty, staff and students!!”
“Before the Instagram post, it was an isolated incident with only one A Frame being taken down, but once the post went up more vandalism happened throughout the week,”Ren said. “Some people will say it’s not a big deal it’s just some posters and flyers, but it’s the principle”
Despite the vandalism, the QT Inaugural Superstar Ball had an estimated 200 students attending the ball.
The performances by Amber St. James and LT3 along with the open dance floor created what many students remember as a memorable night for the USD community.