This is how students at Catholic universities feel about 'Queer Prom'

DePaul University, a Catholic institution in Chicago, recently hosted its first-ever “Queer Prom.”

The event took place on Feb. 24 and was sponsored by DePaul’s Student Government Association (SGA). 

Although it was open to all students, the purpose of the event was to create “a safe space for those in the LGBTQ+ community,” according to The DePaulia.

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SGA senator Riley Reed, who specifically works with the LGBTQ+ community, was one of the event’s main organizers. She told The DePaulia that the school’s Queer Prom was a success.

“I think the most beautiful thing I noticed was how many different types of people were here and how people could just let loose and have fun, especially with a lot of the different laws we’ve seen being passed in Florida and Texas. I think that was just really motivating to see all these amazing queer people coming out and celebrating themselves,” Reed is quoted as saying. 

Reed now wants the event to be held annually. 

Campus Reform spoke with college students attending Catholic universities about DePaul’s controversial event. 

Nicholas Baker, a student at Saint Louis University, a Catholic institution in Missouri, informed Campus Reform that his university would be hosting a similar event on Mar. 5.

Saint Louis University’s Queer Prom is sponsored by a group called Rainbow Alliance.

“I’m incredibly disappointed to see these supposedly Catholic institutions bow down to the pressure of our secular society,” Baker told Campus Reform.

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He added, “As Catholics and Christians, we are supposed to defend truth and confront sin, not celebrate it.”

Baker also called out Catholic universities for utilizing a “bait and switch scheme.”

“These schools dupe their prospective students and donors into believing they’re Catholic, and then pull the rug out from underneath,” he said. 

Alexander Diaz, a student at the Catholic University of America and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, is not sure why queer proms are necessary.

“As a gay student at a Catholic university, I have never felt unwelcome in any way on campus,” Diaz told Campus Reform. 

“People, at least at my university, look past superficial characteristics such as race, sex, and sexual orientation to the person underneath.”

Campus Reform reached out to DePaul University, DePaul’s SGA, and Riley Reed for comment, but did not receive a response.

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