Catholic Chicago school hosted 'Fruity Party' for 'Pride Month'
The ‘Fruity Party’ provided attendees with different types of fruit in a ‘celebration of queerness.’
An attendant at last year’s ‘Fruity Party’ said: ‘Nature is very gay.’
A Catholic university in Chicago has announced its “Pride Month” celebration calendar for June. The events include a drag show and a “Fruity Party,” in which participants try different types of fruit in a “celebration of queerness.”
The LGBTQ-themed programming is being organized by DePaul University’s LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, which is part of the Division of Student Affairs.
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The “Fruity Party” took place on June 6. “Join the LGBTQIA Resource Center and DePaul Urban Gardeners for a celebration of queerness,” the school’s announcement stated. “We will meet in the garden on the corner of Belden and Bissell for the annual feast of all your favorite fruits. This will be [sic] safe space of community, reflection, and generating good energy as we move into pride month. You are loved! You are valued! And we are so happy you are here.”
This is not the first time the university has hosted the “Fruity Party.” Students attended the event last year, with one student saying: “Looking back at history, queerness was often coded in nature. When I think about nature, I think about its concealment and how it can be so disregarded at times just like queerness. There’s a lot we can learn from nature in the way it still prevails.”
“Nature is very gay,” another student added. “On a personal level I know that being gay is natural and beautiful.”
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DePaul also hosted a drag show on June 5. According to the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center’s program manager, Isis Walker, the majority of the performers will be students: “Most of the performers at the show are current DePaul students, and for many of whom [sic] it’s the first time they’ve ever performed in drag. It takes a lot of courage to get up on stage and perform in drag in front of a crowd.”
Other “Pride Month” programming taking place at the school included a Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ-identifying students on May 31.
Campus Reform contacted DePaul University for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
