NIU LGBTQ+ Dance Night

Origins of NIU LGBTQ+ Dance Night: 1980's and 1990's 

Dancing has historically been a source of resistance and empowerment for the queer community. As such there has been a long history of dances hosted on NIU’s campus by the LGBTQ+ organization Prism. Prism originally started as the Gay Liberation Front in 1970 and has since had multiple name changes over time including Gay Community Organization in 1975, Gay Lesbian Union in 1980, and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Coalition in 1993. Finally in 1998, NIU’s official gay student organization took the current name Prism. Over its history, it has a long tradition of hosting dances throughout the school year. In the 1970s dances were held mostly off campus, and locations weren’t usually advertised and had “call for location” listed with them. This was an act of protection for the community members at the time so that those who wanted to attend could be sure that no one with the intent of harm would have the location of the events.
In the 1980s the dances were generally held off campus. This trend of off-campus events continued until the 2000’s where there was a shift to on campus events. The frequency of dances overtime has decreased to having multiple per semester to just one dance a year. 
The resilience of this organization over time is very commendable, on October 10th,1986 the organization hosted a dance at J. P. Hannigan’s during the height of the AIDs epidemic. The epidemic created a huge source of hatred for the queer community. Prism then, called the Gay and Lesbian Union, was still holding events and supporting the community as shown by the October 7th, 1986, Prideletter. 

Scan of the cover of the 1986 Prideletter newsletter with a couple of sections including: From teh editor, Bits and Pieces.

Cover of 1986 Prideletter

This Prideletter talked about past dance locations in the editor's note as well as the complaints attendees had about the other previous locations. These complaints, especially about the location of J.P. Hannigan’s such as, “people object because of its proximity to Greek Row and ‘someone might see’” (Abbott, 1986, p. 1). These concerns seem to be rooted in concerns about safety and being outed. However, their complaints appear to have been in vain as dances at J.P. Hannigan’s were a common monthly occurrence for the next decade.

Scan of a page of a 1996 Prideletter newsletter which includes a list of events and meetings coming up, as well as a phone number for the organization.

September 1996 Prideletter which shows a list of events as well as the last mention of J.P. Hannigans.

The last mention of J.P. Hannigan's comes from the September 1996 Prideletter where it lists Fat Boys (Formerly J.P. Hannigan’s) as the location for the dance. The last letter that has Fat Boy’s listed is the October 1996 edition. This is important as after that point event locations move more and more on campus whereas for the decade before that J.P. Hannigan’s was the main spot for dances.

Scan of a page of a 1996 Prideletter which includes a list of events, meetings, and contact information for the organization.

October 1996 Prideletter which shows a list of events as well as the final mention of Fat Boy’s Bar and Grill.

As the years went by the events held tended to be located more on campus. In April 2002, Prism held its sixth annual Gay Jam titled “Episode VI: Return of the Divi ” part of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender awareness month. This event was held at the Holmes Students Center’s Diversions Lounge. The drag and variety show, which originated as a comedy show in 1997, featured activities such as a charity raffle to support adolescents struggling with their sexual identities, a drag performance, and an evening of comedy and music.

Gay Jams in the 2000's 

Scan of a newspaper article for a newspaper article called "The divi return" with text and an image of a person singing.

Article that updates NIU students about the April 2002 Gay Jam

As the years went by the events held tended to be located more on campus. In April 2002, Prism held its sixth annual Gay Jam titled “Episode VI: Return of the Divi ”* part of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender awareness month. This event was held at the Holmes Students Center’s Diversions Lounge. The drag and variety show, which originated as a comedy show in 1997, featured activities such as a charity raffle to support adolescents struggling with their sexual identities, a drag performance, and an evening of comedy and music. *Divi is plural for Diva. 

Scan of a newspaper article called Gay Jam kicks off LGBT Awareness Month with 2 columns of text.

Event reminder for NIU students about the ninth annual Gay Jam organized by PRISM in April 2005

Another event organized by Prism was the ninth annual Gay Jam which was held at the Holmes Student Center’s Diversions lounge in April 2005. The Gay Jam was part of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) awareness month celebrations. The event was a social outlet for LGBT people to have fun and connect with each other. It was also organized with the aim of bringing awareness to LGBT issues. “The planned calendar of events for both Prism and the LGBT Resource Center focuses on bringing awareness to LGBT issues” (Lopez, 2005, p. #). 

MasQUEERades in the 2010's 

In 2012 and 2013 there was some dances that did occur off campus. These dances were titled MasQUEERades and were pretty popular. At the time, marriage equality was not legal in all 50 states of the United States rather it was up to the individual states. In 2011, the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act went into effect in Illinois which recognized civil unions which provided comprehensive legal status to same-sex couples.  
The theme of masQUEERade meant that there was a chance for students to be out in queer spaces and express themselves but still have the protection of a mask. The Prism Event Coordinator at the time was quoted in the Northern Star as saying “it’s a masquerade and yeah, you’re supposed to be wearing a mask, but there’s so much more that you can do with it. You can put feathers or rhinestones on it. It’s just really cool” (Kurth, 2012, p. #). The 2012 dance was held at an event space inside University Plaza. The 2013 dance was held inside of Pizza Pro’s restaurant. As with all Prism dances, they were open to the whole student body. 

Poster for MasQUEERade dance on April 12 2023. The poster contains the date, cost ($5 to enter), and links to social media for PRISM-the organization running the event. There's a large multicolored mask in the middle of the poster.

Poster used to advertise for the 2013 MasQUEERade dance

Queer Prom in the 2020's 

After pausing for the COVID-19 pandemic, Prism has continued to host dances on campus again. In last couple of years, Prism has sponsored Queer Prom in the spring semester. Since it is only held once a year, it has become an opportunity for attendees to have a dance experience where they can fully be themselves and not hide their sexualities or gender identities. There is also no longer a ticket price to get in the doors to be more inclusive. Instead, the organization has used their SGA allocations to cover the costs of the dance as they have been held on campus. 

Poster for the 2022-2023 Queer Prom event on Nov. 17. There's a large pink and blue butterfly in the center of the poster with floral designs and a rainbow in teh background. The rest of the poster includes details about the event.

Poster from the 2022-2023 Queer Prom, The Enchanted Forest

The 2022-2023 school year theme for Queer Prom was The Enchanted Forest hosted at the Holmes Student Center (HSC) Regency Room and had around 100 attendees. 

Poster from the 2023-2024 Queer Prom, Heaven and Hell: Dante’s Big Night Out with details for teh event and the text, "PRISM invites all souls to Vibe Eternally at the Dante's Big Night Out! on February 21 at the HSC, Capitol Room from 7-10PM." There's an image of 2 heads, one with a halo on top and one styled to be a devil.

Poster from the 2023-2024 Queer Prom, Heaven and Hell: Dante’s Big Night Out

The 2023-2024 theme was Heaven and Hell: Dante’s Big Night Out and was held in the HSC Capitol Room with around 100 attendees. During this current school year (2024-2025) Queer Prom will be held in the Spring with a pirate theme. 

Conclusion

One aspect that has been come clear over time is the changing role of Prism for the campus community with the founding of the NIU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center in 2003, now the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. Primarily, Prism is no longer the main voice of advocacy or community for LGBTQ students and the larger community at NIU. However, dances are sure to keep defining Prism’s future as they have defined Prism’s past. Especially given the results of the 2024 Presidential Election as holding dances is still going to be an important way for the community to show their true colors and show the world that the queer community is proud of who they are. 

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