Don’t “drag” your feet: Come and see Rider’s Drag Race
by Cassandra Stathis
Sass, shade and style come back with Rider’s Drag Race, happening Feb. 8 in the Yvonne Theater at 8 p.m.
The fourth installment of the annual event will have not only Rider students, but appearances by drag performers from Philadelphia and New Hope, Pennsylvania.
“For this year’s Drag Race we reinvented the program and are really excited for this new take on the event,” said Associate Dean of Campus Life Nicholas Barbati.
Barbati is excited for the new addition to the event because it will, “showcase to our students the larger community that surrounds them.”
Rider’s Drag Race was originally an “on-again-off-again” event for years, said Barbati, but recently gained popularity due to the television show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The Student Entertainment Council (SEC) decided to permanently keep the event and give students a platform to do what they love.
The show is one of the major fundraising events the SEC holds throughout the school year, with audience members voting for their favorite performance by donating money, Barbati said.
In past years, the SEC has donated the earnings to Rider’s Relay for Life as well as New Hope Celebrates, an LGBTQ+ organization based in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
Freshman geoscience major Mitose McHugh said, “It’s pretty cool, not a lot of colleges do it so it sets us apart from them. It’s nice to be on a campus that is very welcoming to everyone.”
To be given this opportunity, Barbarti said, “It is always an amazing feeling… the event is always joyful, celebratory and carries with it a feeling of triumph. It is an honor to be part of this program each year.”
To further emphasize the appeal of the recurring event, Barbarti also stated, “The show has grown in scale immensely and the production value has increased with the rising interest on campus. This year will certainly be a show to remember.”
Published in the 2/5/20 edition.
