Elizabethtown College’s Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) hosted a ‘queeraoke’ event. This allowed students to come together and celebrate pride with an inclusive karaoke night.
Queeraoke was held on Friday, April 11 in the Gibble Auditorium from 7 p.m to 9 p.m. While the crowd was small, the singing never ceased.
This event was organized by GSA president and Alysse Smith a junior. Smith has been president of GSA since Spring 2024, advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. When asked what pride meant to them, Smith said, “[pride means] digging deep within yourself to express yourself to the world, be loud about it.” Which is exactly what they facilitated during this year’s event, allowing students to express themselves through karaoke. As Smith said, “there’s a power in having fun together.”
While this event is a yearly occurrence, Smith moved the event from the Koons Activity Center (KAV) to the Gibble Auditorium. Smith said they wanted to open the space and provide a bigger state for people to express themselves.
The night was filled with singing and dancing on stage to songs ranging from “Gotta Go My Own Way” from High School Musical 2 to “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar. The chosen songs added some variety to the festivities, including several from Disney, Nicki Minaj and Hamilton the musical.
The event attracted the attention of students outside of GSA, Brooke Floyd also attended the event. When asked what made them attend the event, Floyd said they went to support their friends, or “my gang, my squad” as Floyd referred to them.
“To me it [pride] means advocacy, self love, and positive vibes,” Floyd said and certainly brought the vibes with their performances of “Say No to This” and “Reynolds Pamphlet” from the Hamilton musical. They performed alongside a friend, Adrianna Flory.
“People need to be more confident in themselves,” Flory said. Flory portrayed that confidence during queeraoke by performing several songs for the crowd.
While the crowd for the event was small, Smith said they only had one goal for the night, “to have lots of fun, lots of good notes and make this a way to come together.”
A few other songs that filled this action packed night included “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, “Someone Like You” by Adele, “Freak the Freak Out” from Nickelodeon show ‘Victorious’ and so many more.
As president ofGSA, Smith spends time organizing events for the club, such as queeraoke and many more, because community is very important. “It is more important now than ever to build a community to be strong together,” Smith said.
Queeraoke and many events like it are designed to build strong bonds and community. Smith and the members of Elizabethtown’s GSA work hard to nurture a safe, expressive and strong community.
“Go to more events, don’t be boring,” Floyd said. Throughout April, Etown celebrates LGBTQ+ pride in many ways. GSA aids in that celebration, and so does everyone who attends the organized events. According to the attendees of queeraoke, pride means to find who you are, it means to express yourself, it means to be true to yourself, be loud, take up space, love yourself and advocate for yourself and others. To celebrate pride, whether you are celebrating for yourself, a friend, a family member, or even a stranger, you are aiding in building a stronger community.
Etown does pride with GSA, with queeraoke, drag queens, rock painting and with you.
GSA organizes these events for you, the students, those who want to celebrate pride, those who want to make change and have fun doing it. Smith wants everyone to know that “we are making a change around the community, but we also know how to have fun.”
