The Office of Student Life and SVSU Pride hosted Drag Queen Trivia on Oct. 23 from 7-10 p.m. in the Malcolm Field Theater as part of the SVSU’S annual OUT-tober celebration.
The event featured local drag performers and rounds of pride-themed trivia focused on LGBTQ+ history, culture, and representation. Students competed through Kahoot, answering multiple choice questions that tested their knowledge of queer icons, pop culture, pride milestones, and more.
Between rounds, the drag performers entertained the audience with humor and live acts, keeping the crowd engaged throughout the night.
Prizes for top five players each round included pride themed items including Squishmallows, a rainbow rug, the Heartstopper book set, board games, decorations, flags, and more.
Manager of Event Programming and Promotion in Student Life, Haley Charbonneau, said the event originated as an April tradition and has since grown into a part of OUT-Tober’s celebration.
“We started out doing annual drag trivia in April every year in honor of National Coming Out Day,” Charbonneau said. “(With) OUT-tober happening this month, we wanted to bring another drag themed event on campus, so that was where drag trivia night was born out of.”
To bring the event to life, Student Life collaborated with Great Lakes Bay Pride, a nonprofit based in Bay City that connects local drag performers with regional events.
Charbonneau said that given the current social and political climate, it’s especially important to create visible and supportive spaces for the LGBTQ+ community on campus.
“In the times we’re in right now, the LGBTQ+ community is being quieted more and more,” Charbonneau said. “Since we’re not on campus in June to celebrate Pride Month, it’s essential that we’re doing activities like this throughout the school year so that we can be as loud as we can for our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters.”
Beyond celebration and entertainment, education was also a major focus of the night. Each trivia question highlighted aspects of queer culture and history, encouraging students to leave with both new knowledge and a deeper appreciation for the community.
“If I could ask one thing, it’s that they have fun,” Charbonneau said. “And if I could ask another, it’s that they learn something.”
Freshman social work major, Kyle Spann, said Drag Queen Trivia was an opportunity to enjoy one of their favorite forms of entertainment while supporting inclusion on campus.
“I really like drag — it’s one of my favorite things.” Spann said. “Being able to incorporate that into a school environment is really important for student life and inclusion.”
Spann also said important events like these are for fostering acceptance and building community.
“Having events like this is very important, especially currently with what’s going on in politics. Having this creates that safe space that a lot of students are looking for.”
