At a special prom to be held in Marietta Friday, the attendees can wear whatever they want and more importantly, be whomever they want.
There will be food, music, dancing and people dressed to the nines during the dance planned by Marietta College's Rainbow Alliance, but the main goal is to promote the idea of tolerance of others.
Amber Boczar, a sophomore at the college and alliance member, said she hopes the event sends a message about equality.
Article Photos
ASHLEY RITTENHOUSE The Marietta Times
Marietta College students Andrew Dembowski, left; Amber Boczar, center; John Jamison, right, and Katherine Thomas and Taylor Vaughn, back to back, pose for a photo. They all plan to attend an “Opposite Prom” being held at the college’s Gathering Place Friday, where some people will be dressed in drag.
"We can all go to a dance together and enjoy ourselves without people feeling weird or worried about anything - it's just a time to have fun," she said.
It is called the "Opposite Prom" and it is being held for the first time at Marietta College's Gathering Place at 9:30 p.m. Friday. It is being hosted by the college's Rainbow Alliance and CUB (College Union Board) groups and it is free and open to the public.
"Rainbow Alliance seeks to promote tolerance and understanding among not only the Marietta College campus, but among the Marietta community as a whole," said John Jamison, a junior at the college and president of the group.
Fact Box
If you go:
What: "Opposite Prom," hosted by Marietta College's Rainbow Alliance and College Union Board groups.
When: 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Where: Marietta College's Gathering Place, corner of Seventh and Butler streets, Marietta.
Cost: Free; donations accepted for "The Trevor Project."
"We're just a group of people that like to have fun," added Ariel Ross, a senior at Marietta College and vice-president of the Rainbow Alliance. "We are all inclusive - we accept everyone from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, and anyone else."
The organization, she said, consists of about 16 members.
Event attendees are encouraged to dress as the opposite sex, although they are welcome to wear anything they want.
Ross, who is from Cleveland, said she came up with the idea for the event after watching an episode of "The L Word" on Showtime in which a prom was held to raise money for a character on the show who wanted to have sex change surgery.
"For homecoming (at Marietta College), we don't have an actual homecoming dance, so we wanted to put something on where people can get dressed up and come have fun," Ross said.
While she's hopeful attendees have a good time at the event, she's also hopeful they'll walk away having learned something.
"I hope they realize that people in the LGBT community are just like them - we have fun like everyone else," she said.
Ross said trophies will be given to the best dressed couple, best male drag and best female drag. She said there will also be food and drinks at the event and donations will be accepted.
"The Trevor Project, the organization in charge of the 'It Gets Better' campaign, will receive a portion of the donations," Jamison said.
According to the organization's website, www.thetrevorproject.org, its aim is to provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.
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