The Queer Student Association hosted its annual Shantay, UA! event at the Student Center Friday — the organization’s first time holding the event since a law targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools was enacted earlier this year in Alabama. Shantay, UA! aims to assure freshmen and all LGBTQ+ students that they have a support system as they enter or continue college.
Much of the event was hosted by local drag queens Ophelia Foxx and Jayda Sinn. Ophelia Foxx is a UA alum, and Jayda Sinn is from Hillcrest, Alabama, both of whom performed at the event. Campus dance groups also performed, including HallyUA, a dance and social group centered around K-pop, and The Crimson Belles, an “auxiliary-style” dance team. There was also a comedy routine from campus improvisational group, Just Role With It.
In March, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law Senate Bill 129, which prohibits public institutions of higher education from sponsoring or funding DEI programs or offices as they are defined in the law.
This year, the event underwent several changes in response to SB129, including having to receive its funding from sponsors outside the University.
Organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, sponsored the event.
Carmarion Anderson-Harvey, Alabama state director for the Human Rights Campaign’s Project One Initiative, is the first Black transgender woman to serve in a leadership position in the HRC’s history. She began the night’s events with a speech discussing recent laws that have affected LGBTQ+ people in the South.
“They can keep passing laws and trying to take away our dignity by taking away our rights,” Anderson-Harvey said. “Hate cannot stop progress, and we will show up.”
As a result of the law, the QSA no longer gets university funding for events such as “Shantay, UA!”, and UA organizations like University Programs cannot help the QSA set up events, said Bryce Schottelkotte, a senior political science major and the president of the QSA.
These changes come after the University replaced its DEI division and shut down the Black Student Union’s former office in the Student Center in response to SB129. The University also quietly closed the Safe Zone Resource Center, which provided LGBTQ+ students with programming and a safe space.
“When I first heard about the bill, I was immediately worried about what my safety might look like in the future,” Foxx said. “I’m worried about what the future will look like for the younger queer generation. That’s why events like this are so important for the time that we’re living in. If no one else is going to support us, we need to support ourselves from within the community.”
The event was targeted towards LGBTQ+ freshmen. “We want the freshmen to know that there is still a community here to support them,” Schottelkotte said. “Since the DEI bill, it’s really scary to be queer at The University of Alabama. We want the freshmen to see that this is still their space and we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that it’s not going to go away anytime soon.”
HallyUA member MaryElla Woolf, who is also a senior studying economics and political science, said the existence of LGBTQ+ people is wrongfully politicized.
“Queer existence is only political because people make it political. Showing up for your community with events like this one displays the power of the queer community on campus,” Woolf said. “Representation is so important given the recent events regarding the DEI bill.”
Eli Phillips, a senior psychology major and vice president of the QSA, called the event a celebration.
“It’s not like we’re sitting here promoting anything divisive. We are just celebrating being queer,” Phillips said. “The University is too afraid to go toe-to-toe with the bill, and rightfully so. But we are going to continue to show up, to speak up and [to] bring queer people together.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated Sept. 3 to correct Phillips’ listed year. Phillips is a senior, not a junior.
