The CSUN DREAM Center and Pride Center collaborated to present students with a drag show to raise awareness of the difficulties facing people in intersecting communities on Oct. 20 in the Northridge Center Complex, University Student Union.
“Extra-terrestrial” (as she refers to herself) drag queen performer “3li Ann” visits the DREAM Center for the Born to Flutter Drag Show, showing solidarity with the undocumented and queer community on campus. The event was formed as a collaboration between the DREAM Center, which focuses on supporting undocumented, mixed-status CSUN students and the Pride Center.
Irvin Rendon, manager of the DREAM Center, said that his team wanted to “highlight the intersection of being queer and being undocumented,” Rendon said. “We feel like it is not talked about. We want to bring awareness of how different identities mesh together and educate students about it.”
A staff member began the event with a land acknowledgment to the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. They gave a presentation on the 20th century queer history and resistance, from figures like Marsha P. Johnson, the events of the Stonewall riots and the history of Pride Month in June.
Referring to the community the event was centered around, the term “Undocu-Queer” became the shorthand.
“Undocu-Queer folks face 80% more employment discrimination… Undocu-Queer advocacy matters to hold our institutions accountable,” the speaker said.
QR codes were given at every table on key chain tags that gave access to resource guides regarding legal support, healthcare and professional development to all students.
After the presentation, the speaker welcomed “a very special guest,” the Extra-Terrestrial Being, who joined the attendees. 3li Ann came out dancing to a remixed track (in the style of Billie Holiday) of Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” adorned in white, sparkling undergarments and a golden, jewel-studded dress with matching gauntlets. Her towering figure and striking mustache stood in bold and vibrant relief to her luscious hair and pastel makeup. She danced and lip-synced as she made her way through the crowd as they watched with adoration at their tables.
The audience found her performance good and gave it a great roar of applause. She thanked the audience in her booming and bass-toned voice, which created a vocal fry later when she called out the numbers for bingo.
There were almost as many members of university staff in attendance as there were members of the student body. Jamie Pineda Zambrano, academic advisor in CSUN’s College of Science and Mathematics, said that she was in attendance “to support students and see familiar faces.”
Ian Sierra, a freshman biology major, said he came to the event because he heard positive things from friends who attended similar drag shows at other colleges.
“They told me they are really fun and vibrant and like there is not a boring moment, ” Sierra said. “So I feel that coming here will make me be more out there and actually meet new people… I have heard a lot of really good things about it.”
Although Sierra had not heard of 3li Ann before the event, they thought that they seemed like a nice person and wanted to see them in person.
After 3li Ann’s MC duties were concluded, she spent the rest of her time taking pictures with audience members and talking to the people of the undocumented queer community.
