After an alleged staff-on-staff rape outside last year’s Drag Ball and an increasingly high rate of intoxication related trips to the Emergency room, the College, working with a joint student and staff committee, has made several changes to Saturday’s high-profile annual event.
“There have been several events over the years that have suggested to us that we need to have a better idea of and more confidence in the people attending Drag Ball,” Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith said. “By that I mean we need to have some confidence that the people admitted are coming to Drag Ball with the appreciation for and understanding of what it is about. We don’t need voyeurs, gawkers and people that simply believe that it is a whopping good party.”
In recent months there have been several incidents of assault and theft on campus, raising serious security concerns. As a consequence, The Office of Safety and Security played a more active role in planning Drag Ball. Safety and Security and the 15-member Drag Ball committee composed of students and faculty decided to limit non-student attendance, provide more safety oriented education prior to the event, and train peacekeepers for security. Throughout the planning, members of the committee squared off against members of the Administration over issues of safety and security.
“Our main issue this year has been with the guest policy,” senior Erin Shiba said. “The College has been very concerned about liability specifically with people who are not members of Oberlin College.”
“We get a lot of participation from the drag communities from Cleveland and Columbus,” Associate Director of the Student Union and Drag Ball committee member Chris Baymiller said.
“Over the years we have had a really vibrant non-college participation that has come and has been welcomed and have been vital members of evening. It really contributed a lot. They always come in drag and fully immerse themselves in the experience,” Baymiller said.
“I feel that because it’s the one big party on campus people are going to come regardless of what it’s supposed to mean or what education we are trying to present here,” Shiba said. “We’re just trying to make sure that they respect what we’re trying to open up to a great community here.”
“This event is unique to colleges across the country,” Baymiller said. “We have people calling from Wooster. We have people calling from Hiram. We have people calling from Ohio University that want to bring people, that can’t have these events on their campus for whatever reason, and they come to ours.”
The Theme for this year’s Drag Ball is Film Noir. The event will take place this Saturday in Wilder, and tickets are currently on sale at the Wilder desk.