An End to Dragfest?

“Dragfest, despite its appeal to our sentiment (as opposed to our rationality), has been unable to generate critical significance, and while it has become one of the marked events of Whitman’s social landscape, it seems incapable of getting a real message across,” wrote one commentator in the 2007 discussion of whether or not Coalition Against Homophobia should continue its yearly Dragfest tradition. On one side of the debate, students cited that Dragfest gives visibility to an underrepresented group (transgender people), actively engages the empathy of the campus, and allows people to experiment with their own identity (be it transgender or not). On the negative side, students argued that Dragfest overshadowed the other activities of Dragweek, was limited visibility for a group that should be thought of more than just for a night, and ultimately became just another drunken party. Despite concerns, Dragfest ultimately continued to be a Whitman tradition.

2007-05-10