Butler Alliance’s Second Chance Prom featured an atmosphere of love and acceptance. Photo by Claire Runkel.

KAYLEE JOHNSON-BRADLEY | STAFF REPORTER | knjohnson@butler.edu 

Lights, music, camp and acceptance. 

These were the highlights of Butler’s Second Chance Prom. The event was held by the Butler LGBTQIA+ Alliance on Saturday, April 8, welcoming students of all shapes, sizes and identities. This prom was not the first of its kind at Butler, but it was one to remember. 

Prom is a signature American high school outing, featuring people dressed to the nines and attending the event with their friends or date. It is supposed to be a coming-of-age event, but many students face discrimination when trying to attend, oftentimes making them feel excluded or unwanted at the event, due to their sexuality or gender identity. 

The Second Chance Prom, however, allows attendees to flaunt their identities proudly and find solace in people that support them. 

Renee Fezatte, a senior international studies major and the secretary of Butler Alliance, said that Second Chance Prom challenges the original prom status quo by creating a space where all students can feel comfortable. 

“A lot of queer students don’t get to have the same experience that other straight and cis students  would have in high school,” Fezatte said. “A lot of students don’t get to bring the dates they want to. They don’t necessarily feel comfortable to dress the way they want to. [High school prom] is not really a space for a lot of students to be their queer authentic selves. [Second Chance Prom] gives everybody the opportunity to have the prom they deserve.” 

Emma Eyrich, a senior sociology major and vice president of programming and events for Butler Alliance, said that the prom started as a means to let people finally attend prom as their true selves without any barriers. 

“Second Chance Prom started because, within [the Butler Alliance] board, we kind of realized that a lot of our members either didn’t go to prom because they didn’t feel comfortable having to go to prom as something that they weren’t or would have [had] to go to prom possibly outing themselves,” Eyrich said. 

The event was held in the Johnson Board Room, which was lively with students. Students expressed themselves through this year’s theme, camp. The camp aesthetic is known for its outrageous and artistic style, while also sharing a connection with LGBTQ+ culture. Many of the students brought out their campiest and favorite outfits to the event. 

“[Camp] is a way to celebrate gay culture, and it’s just really iconic,” Fezatte said. “It really is a very open-ended theme that can be kind of interpreted in a lot of different ways. We just thought that [the theme] would be the best one for people to show up exactly how they want to be free and be as creative and authentic as possible.” 

Ashleigh Michaels, a junior English creative writing major, was one of the students who attended, but she said the theme was not the only way the prom allowed her to express herself. She felt that the prom was a chance for her and other LGBTQ+ people to voice their identities loud and proud. 

“I would not have been able to go with a girl [to high school prom],” Michaels said. “I think I would not have been allowed into [my high school prom] … with somebody who I wanted to go with. So, having the opportunity to be with a bunch of other queer people and just being myself, I could be into a girl, and it wouldn’t be a problem.” 

Though not everyone in the room was LGBTQ+, it didn’t stop the event from being a safe space for everyone there. 

Evelyn Stewart, a sophomore history-anthropology major, says that the prom’s attendees also contended to the prom’s safe atmosphere. 

“[At the prom] just kind of knowing that everyone in the room was queer,” Stewart said. “Even the ones who weren’t [queer] were obviously at the gay prom, so they’re gonna be chill, I felt a lot more comfortable than at my high school prom.” 

The prom couldn’t have come at a more pertinent time. Just a few days before the event, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed Senate Bill 480 into law, a bill which prohibits minors from gender-affirming care. The bill is preceded by a slough of anti-queer bills from all over the country. Eyrich said that the prom is the perfect place for LGBTQ+ students to feel safe in their own skin. 

“It really is dignifying why we need this campus-wide event,” Eyrich said. “[It was a place] for people who are affected by these [anti-gay bills] … and give the community a space to go … and to be themselves and feel like they’re allowed to exist.” 

While they were excited for this year’s prom, Alliance is also looking towards the future in the hopes that more events like this will pop up more often. 

“I just hope more events like this happen, “Eyrich said. “[Second Chance prom] is just a space where people can gather and be themselves fearlessly.”