McMurry SAGA and Friends are hosting their First \u201cMasqueerade\u00a0Ball\u201d on Saturday, May 2\u00a0from 6 – 8:30 p.m. in the\u00a0Mabee\u00a0room. A public event for\u00a0LGBTQ+\u00a0and allied students and community members. The Ball will feature hors d’oeuvres, dancing, and friends, including a special guest performer from right in our own Abilene community, Drag Queen Cecelia Ford! Friends and students from ACU\u2019s Voice Chapel will also be attending the event, and there will be games like musical\u00a0chairs to keep things lively too!\u00a0The event is supported by the McMurry Student Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea for the event came about because many LGBTQ+ students feel like they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0belong\u00a0at\u00a0their high school proms or other\u00a0dances due to a lack of support and understanding from their school or community.\u00a0This event is an opportunity for students to get the experience that they may have otherwise missed, express themselves authentically, and be their truest selves regardless of what others think.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junior Social Work Major Andrew\u00a0Piersall\u00a0from ACU\u00a0stated,\u00a0\u201cI think it offers the chance for queer students all around town to get to know each other and\u00a0connect\u00a0into the wider Abilene community.\u201d\u00a0Dwayne Luster,\u00a0a\u00a0McMurry sophomore Criminology Major\u00a0elaborated.\u00a0\u201cEvents like this are important because\u00a0they allow for a thread to be\u00a0formed, that\u00a0thread twists and connects\u00a0with others.\u00a0Relatively it\u00a0functions\u00a0as a way to\u00a0network and meet others.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the many SAGA Sponsors and McMurry\u2019s Professor of Religion Dr. Mark Waters commented, \u201cI think it’s important to have events like this because all of our students, along with all people, are individually important and corporately important. There are certain groups who get marginalized or left out in some cases, and we want to make sure that everybody belongs,\u201d referencing the importance of LGBTQ+ events like this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Waters continued, \u201cPut yourself in the shoes of other people and think of what it might feel like to be in their shoes and be compassionate and kind. And if it’s for religious reasons that you might not like this kind of event, remember that Jesus accepted and loved everybody without exception\u201d. Relating it specifically to the college experience, \u201cIf we can’t at least go the step of learning to live civilly with people who are different than ourselves, we haven’t gotten what we need to get from college.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n