Students flocked to their screens Friday night, for Associated Students, Inc.’s first ever virtual Drag Bingo with drag queen Monique Heart.
Heart, a former contestant on season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and season four of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars, took to the Zoom stage to lead Long Beach State students through multiple games of bingo.
According to Beach Pride Events coordinator Sabrina Ware, approximately 110 students were in attendance for the event.
“I’m so grateful to have been a part of this amazing event,” Alan Pham, a first-year mechanical engineering graduate student, said. “[This was my] first time doing a bingo ever, which makes this online bingo with drag queen Monique Heart even more special.”
Students used the chat to ask Heart questions about her favorite foods, joke about the Spongebob decorations in her room and what her experience was like as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“It was traumatizing,” Heart said. “No, but I really did love it and honestly if I wasn’t trying to pursue other things in my life I would do it again, and you all should too.”
Heart continued the night with lip sync battles between students, making third-year hospitality and management major Terri Chu laugh.
“Monique is hilarious and so sweet,” Chu said. “Best Zoom meeting ever.”
Chu was not the only student charmed by Heart.
“Monique was just so charismatic, I was enjoying myself even before the games started,” Buddy Casiles, a first-year marine biology major, said.
The event, which started at 7:00 p.m., lasted for over an hour. The final round of bingo was won by student Sergio Vasquez, who received a $50 Target gift card.
“The chat feed was going off throughout the event and students were seen dancing along to the songs being played,” Miriam Romero, Beach Pride Events program assistant, said in an email. “Overall, this was a fantastic way to end Week of Welcome.”
As the event came to a close, Heart reminded students what she told them in the beginning.
“Write your dreams or aspirations down, cultivate them, nurture them, remind yourself [to] cut the B.S. out of your lives [and] surround yourself with people who will love and affirm you,” Heart said. “I love you and be blessed.”