The Diverse Sexuality and Gender Alliance (DSAGA) held its first ever “Beach Day” event this past Friday, though the event was forced to relocate indoors to the Charles Commons Ballroom due to rain.
The purpose of the event was twofold: to celebrate the hard work DSAGA members had put in all year and to raise awareness about the LGBT community on campus.
“[The event] was supposed to let people know that we do have LGBT resources and support on campus because a lot of times it’s overlooked at Hopkins,” DSAGA President Patrick Armstrong said. “And it was also just to attract more people to DSAGA, both LGBT people and straight allies.”
Despite having to hold the event inside, the group managed to incorporate many of the same activities they had planned for the Beach including a live performance from the student band Corporate Casual, tie dying and t-shirt decorating, henna tattoos, caricature drawings and free Ledo’s Pizza and soda.
Armstrong did note that after the decision was made to relocate, a few of the other bands slated to perform dropped out.
In addition, due to lower than expected attendance, the drag show that was previously supposed to conclude the event was cancelled.
Armstrong estimates that about 100 students stopped by over the course of the day, a lower number than originally anticipated, but a good turnout considering the conditions.
“I think given the circumstances it was very successful and I think it’s definitely something we are going to try to do again next year for our awareness day,” Armstrong said.
For the most part, members who attended agreed that the event was a success.
“I thought that they handled the fact that it got rained out really well,” DSAGA member Audrey Zeldin said.
“I thought everything was really great, the only thing was maybe the music was slightly too loud at some points because there were really big speakers in a small area, but other than that everything was really fun.”
DSAGA member Tory Halterman went so far as to credit the relocation with potentially attracting more students to the event.
“I mean [I] think a lot of people just heard the music when they were coming into Charles Commons and decided to check it out,” DSAGA member Tory Halterman said.
Member James Sabra disagreed.
“I think if it had actually been on the Beach it would have been a lot more successful because it would have grabbed the attention of people going by, but instead you kind of had to know exactly where it was gonna be and what is was gonna be about to find it in Charles Commons,” Sabra said. “But that’s not really the fault of anyone in DSAGA. That was ‘cause of the weather, which can’t really be controlled.”
Another issue participants disagreed upon was whether the event succeeded in its goal to attract more straight allies and raise awareness among non-members.
“I definitely brought some friends who don’t usually go to DSAGA and I feel like a lot of other people did too, so I feel like it definitely spread the word and got more people out than usual,” Zeldin said.
However, Sabra thought that the group could have done more to get the straight community involved.
“If you looked around the room it was pretty much just members there, I probably only saw about three or four new faces that I hadn’t seen at a DSGAGA event before,” Sabra said. “But again, if it was on the beach, it probably would have been more successful because people walking by would have stopped by, instead of having to know specifically about the event to go there.”
While non-member turnout might not have been as substantial as some would have liked, Beach Day was certainly a successful introduction to DSAGA for those non-members who did turn out.
“Beach Day was an event receptive to all students, regardless of their prior involvement in DSAGA,” Fradkin said. “I appreciate the inclusive nature of DSAGA and will certainly look out for future events!”
Despite differences in opinions, members were able to agree on a few things — namely caricatures, henna and tie-dye.
“Obviously the few artist people were really cool because everyone wanted their own caricature or henna,” Sabra noted.
“[My favorite activity] was probably a tie between tie-dye and the caricature artist,” Halterman said. “‘Cause I’m a sucker for tie-dye.”
