William Henry and Anthony Pacheco recall roaming around campus in their freshman year, looking for an inclusive community to join. Both students heard of the Queer and Ally Student Assembly (QuASA) and decided to attend a general meeting to see if it was the organization they could call home at the university.
For Henry and Pacheco, now seniors at USC, joining QuASA ignited their four-year friendship — kicking off a new chapter in both students’ lives. Henry is QuASA’s president this year and Pacheco is the former president and current advocacy director intern. While both lead the organization, the two have also been roommates for the last three years and share a passion for queer advocacy.
Last year, the organization worked with a budget of $67,000. QuASA’s funds from USC’s Undergraduate Student Government are scattered among various the organization’s queer student groups, which include Queer Cinematic Arts, Nice Jewish Queers, Queers in Engineering Science and Technology and the Queer and Trans Asian Pacific Islander Initiative. These organizations are just a few among the many other campus-wide LGBTQ+ student organizations beyond QuASA.
“A lot of the queer community shares trauma and relates to each other through their experiences,” said Henry, a senior majoring in global health. “My goal is to build a joyful community for QuASA.”
But building community proved to be a challenge amid the pandemic. Henry said that COVID-19 and the move to virtual programming was a challenge for the organization’s member retention because students stopped showing up to meetings and events.
“Most of the meetings, only the executive board showed up,” Henry said. “We lost a lot of member relationships because everyone was tired of being on Zoom, so they didn’t attend.”
This year, nearly all of QuASA’s current members are underclassmen who learned about the organization from the involvement fair at the start of the semester. There were over 40 new members at their first general meeting on Wednesday. Henry said that these new members are a welcome addition to the organization and can help contribute new ideas.
For Pacheco, working under the advocacy director is a way to represent the needs of the queer community within student government. The advocacy director position is designed to hear the needs of queer students and relay their needs to the Undergraduate Student Government.
Henry and Pacheco want to stress that QuASA is for “anyone trying to find themselves” as they strive to create an inclusive atmosphere and provide ally education, in addition to resources for queer students. As a part of this outreach, queer student groups are making strides to bring back engaging programming.
Two events that QuASA looks forward to hosting in the spring are Second Chance Prom and Pridefest. Both of these events are a celebration of queer identity and focus on providing nonjudgemental spaces for queer people on campus. These events are scheduled for the spring semester and, if USC’s coronavirus policies allow, will be held in person.
Another event that QuASA is known for on campus is its annual drag show. The organization’s last show, before the pandemic brought in an audience of 300 people, including ten former contestants from the award-winning television show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
This year’s drag show will feature 12 performers and a runway where participants can showcase their looks. Pacheco said it is also about encouraging students to express themselves through the art of drag. Auditions were held during the first week of September and the show attracted a record number of applicants, with over 30 students fighting for the 12 performance slots. Additionally, contestants from Rupaul’s Drag Race will be there to provide feedback and support to the students in their creative expression.
As of now, the event will be held in person in the Trojan Grand Ballroom on Nov. 13 and will welcome the USC community to celebrate this expression of queer pride. Sasha Urban, a senior who directs the show, and QuASA’s executive board are working to make sure that this event aligns with the COVID-19 policy that the university has in place.
“We are trying to make it as interactive as possible even with the COVID restrictions,” said Ginger Gordon, the show’s assistant director. “People need to be a certain amount of feet away from each other and we are looking into what the policy is.”
While plans remain flexible to accommodate changes in pandemic restrictions, Gordon said that performers will be unmasked while they perform and that the audience will remain masked during the event.
Organizers are excited to hold in-person events to bring USC’s queer community together. This event will be the first since the pandemic halted all in-person programming in March 2020. Henry and Pacheco believe this is a step toward reviving QuASA membership and allowing the organization to provide more inclusive spaces on campus.
“There are so many unexpected friendships that come out of QuASA,” Pacheco said. “I know that the new members will find lifelong friendships here.”
LGBTQ+ resources and services are accessible through the LGBTQ+ Student Center in Student Union 415.