OPINION
The road to nationals is paved by drag queens at the GVSU chapel
Published June 1, 2023
Written by Henry
Photography by Simply American
Selling high-priced candy, subs sandwiches, coffee cards, and wrapping paper for school are no longer the fundraisers of choice.
The GV Men’s Volleyball team pulled out all the stops this year to make sure their bus could make it to Kansas for nationals.
Going To The Chapel
On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the GV Men’s Volleyball team hosted a drag showcase at the Cook-DeWitt Center chapel. Every Sunday, the chapel holds nondenominational Christian services on the campus of Grand Valley State University (GVSU). The drag event was in partnership with the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center for Trans Visibility Week.
Tipping Encouraged
Perhaps those tipping could have just put those funds in a bucket to help these gentlemen get to Kansas.
But somehow, traditional fundraising wasn’t good enough for these athletes.
This Isn’t The First Time
In a post on the team’s Instagram account it says, “You asked, we delivered. WE ARE HOSTING ANOTHER DRAG SHOW. After an incredibly successful show the first semester, we had a LOT of requests to do another.”
On November 11, 2022, the GV Men’s Volleyball team hosted their first drag fundraiser.
Not wanting to clean the bleachers or send emails, but still wanting to “do cool stuff”—a drag show was the new fundraiser of choice.
A post after the event reads, “WHAT A NIGHT. A million thank yous to everyone who came out tonight. We had OVER 100 PEOPLE AND THE ENERGY WAS CRAZY.”
Not Only Coach, But Host
The team gave a special shout-out to their coach for securing the performers and hosting.
Their coach, Marcus Johns, is also La Reine Divine. Hosting a drag fundraiser makes a bit more sense now.
At the time of the above post by @gvmensvb, the team tagged their “beloved coach” using @marxus_j33. Since then, Johns has updated his Instagram profile name to @the_la_reine_divine.
Previous Performances
La Reine Divine performed on June 5, 2021, in Lowell’s 1st Annual Pride Festival. According to an article by 13 on Your Side, it was a very emotional moment for Johns.
13 on Your Side: “Johns said the entire day was emotional because of the outpouring of love and support from the Lowell community. But it was during this performance that he was overcome with joy.”
“It was the moment I got off the stage and I got to see the kids’ faces in the audience,” said Johns. “And seeing some of the parents start to choke up, it really hit me that this is important.”
“I do it for them,” Johns said. “I don’t do it for me, I do it for the people.”
GVSU has had a lot of questionable headlines in the past month. As parents, what do we look for when choosing higher education for our teens?
Between “kinky sex ed weeks,” segregated graduations, and drag fundraisers, have colleges gone too far?
How are schools preparing our future leaders? And for what?
It may be time for parents to truly question where their kids go for “higher education.”
