Hug a queen or a king
Emily Zulz/Staff Reporter
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: News
Mason Abernathy cannot find high heels in a women's size 16, extra wide.
He also is not sure yet if he will wear long gloves or get his nails done.
However, he said he does have a "wonderful" black and white dress.
Abernathy, freshman undecided major, is participating in "Hug a Queen or King."
EIU Pride will host the event today in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union walkway outside the University Food Court.
Queens and kings will be available for hugs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m.
"I'll be Miss Beautiful there," Abernathy said. "That's what you can call me."
The event is part of Pride's celebration of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month, which ends Oct. 31. LGBT History Month started on Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day.
The cost to hug a queen or king is $1.
All proceeds will go to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Dan Koteski, actions director for Pride and senior history and journalism major, said Pride will not keep any of the money.
"We chose The Global Fund because it's a widely recognized charity and it's more encompassing in its mission to provide health services," Koteski said.
He said the fund appealed to Pride because it is more than an AIDS charity and is also global.
Koteski said there will be three, possibly four, Pride members participating as "amateur drag enthusiasts."
Kirstin Bowns volunteered to be a king.
"So, basically, I'm going to dress like a boy and sit at a booth all day," Bowns said.
The freshman special education major said she has never done drag before but said it sounded amusing.
Bowns said she is looking forward to giving strangers hugs and thinks it will be entertaining. She said she's naturally an outgoing person who normally does not give handshakes - she gives hugs.
He also is not sure yet if he will wear long gloves or get his nails done.
However, he said he does have a "wonderful" black and white dress.
Abernathy, freshman undecided major, is participating in "Hug a Queen or King."
EIU Pride will host the event today in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union walkway outside the University Food Court.
Queens and kings will be available for hugs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m.
"I'll be Miss Beautiful there," Abernathy said. "That's what you can call me."
The event is part of Pride's celebration of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month, which ends Oct. 31. LGBT History Month started on Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day.
The cost to hug a queen or king is $1.
All proceeds will go to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Dan Koteski, actions director for Pride and senior history and journalism major, said Pride will not keep any of the money.
"We chose The Global Fund because it's a widely recognized charity and it's more encompassing in its mission to provide health services," Koteski said.
He said the fund appealed to Pride because it is more than an AIDS charity and is also global.
Koteski said there will be three, possibly four, Pride members participating as "amateur drag enthusiasts."
Kirstin Bowns volunteered to be a king.
"So, basically, I'm going to dress like a boy and sit at a booth all day," Bowns said.
The freshman special education major said she has never done drag before but said it sounded amusing.
Bowns said she is looking forward to giving strangers hugs and thinks it will be entertaining. She said she's naturally an outgoing person who normally does not give handshakes - she gives hugs.
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