Furman Pride Alliance welcomes students’ authentic selves

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“I had never even seen a drag show before I helped plan one,” said Ashley Tillman ’24.

Presented by the Furman Pride Alliance (FPA), a student group that has existed under various names for three decades, the drag show has been a signature event since 2015.

An audience of Furman students in McAlister Auditorium responds to Delighted Tobehere, host of the Annual Drag Show presented by Furman Pride Alliance in April 2023.

“It’s such a big part of the LGBTQIA+ community that I had never really even explored,” said Tillman, a music major. “And it’s only grown since I’ve been here.”

As the current president of FPA, Tillman is busy this June helping organize the group’s activities for Pride Month. FPA will use its platforms – including its Instagram account and the GroupMe chat app – to share resources, such as information on events and local businesses to support, links to online petitions and facts about the history of Pride Month, Tillman said.

Along with weekly meetings for fellowship and support, the group also focuses on education and activism, working with other organizations within the Student Diversity Council. Approximately 100 students are listed on the FPA roster.

Furman Pride Alliance logo

The university’s support for the organization demonstrates its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as its efforts to make sure all students feel valued and affirmed, said FPA faculty advisor Scott Henderson.

“FPA allows students to see that they’re not alone, that they are part of a community that can provide support and fellowship,” said Henderson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education. “For some students, it’s the first time they’ve experienced that sort of freedom.”

“Having the university say that it’s supporting the community makes a big difference,” said Tillman. “A lot of people feel safer and like they can be more themselves at Furman than at their homes.”

Changing with the culture

FPA’s roots go back to the 1992-1993 school year, when the constitution of the student group Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FLAG) was officially approved by the Association of Furman Students (now known as the Student Government Association or SGA).

Members of Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FLAG), a new student group, pictured in the 1993 Bonhomie yearbook with faculty advisor Nicholas Radel, a professor of English (top left).

Several students had approached Nicholas Radel, a professor of English, about forming the group. Official support from John E. Johns, the university’s president at the time, and other administrators came as the school became independent from the South Carolina Baptist Convention in 1992, said Radel, who served as FLAG’s first faculty advisor.

In 2003, FLAG changed its name to the Queer Student Alliance (QSA). Another renaming occurred in 2007, when QSA became Encouraging Respect of Sexualities (EROS). The group has been known as FPA since the 2017-2018 academic year.

Much of this history is outlined in the LGBTQIA+ at Furman timeline, which displays material from the Furman’s Special Collections and Archives.

“The country’s attitudes toward the LGBTQIA+ community have changed markedly over the past three decades,” Henderson said. “Furman’s public support of FPA is a great example of how the university has embraced and sometimes even helped spark those changes.”

A safe place

Furman pride buttons

The group, which is open to all LGBTQIA+ people and allies, will resume its weekly meetings in Fall 2023. Look for the FPA community in the first floor of Furman Hall, at the door marked Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer Resource Room.

“It’s a good place for people to come and get help if they need it,” Tillman said.