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Syracuse University senior and Pride Union president Barrington Bucknor wants to build on the legacy that previous leaders left behind.

Former president and SU senior Hunter Gorick recruited Bucknor to be on the e-board last year as a fiscal agent. One of Bucknor’s main priorities as president is to maintain a steady growth of members in the organization.

Pride Union is dedicated to providing a safe space for LGBTQ students at SU. But now that COVID-19 has interrupted in-person activities, Pride Union is working on hosting engaging online activities.

“We want to create a space where students who don’t identify as male or female, who are nonbinary or trans individuals, can feel a sense of security,” Bucknor said. “A place where someone who’s questioning their identity could feel a sense of community to explore their other options.”

Gorick (left) recruited Bucknor to be on the e-board last year as a fiscal agent.
Emily Steinberger | Photo Editor

Another goal Bucknor has is making the organization more inclusive of different LGBTQ identities. In previous years, the organization was geared more toward “mainstream” queer individuals such as drag queens, Bucknor said.

Navigating this leadership role during the coronavirus pandemic has been challenging in terms of keeping people engaged, Bucknor said.

But COVID-19 hasn’t stopped Pride Union from holding informative events. The organization has a GroupMe with past and current members of Pride Union where they are promoting their virtual events for this semester.

With students taking multiple classes online this semester, Gorick thought students wouldn’t be interested in joining virtual meetings. But after SU’s virtual involvement fair, Pride Union started receiving emails from students who were interested in getting involved virtually.

“We took the outreach and decided to do more than we usually do,” Gorick said. “We actually decided to do weekly meetings alternating on Wednesdays and Thursdays over Zoom.”

So far, Pride Union has held virtual events such as a screening of a “Queer Eye” episode followed by a discussion on the portrayal of LGBTQ identities in the show.

Pride Union has also partnered with SU’s LGBT Resource Center to host a virtual drag queen bingo with Monique Heart of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” and a Queer Trivia Night with Christopher Street Tours, a company that holds LGBTQ history walking tours in New York City.

(Left) Ian Laih and Quincy Nolan would dress up in drag for Pride Union’s annual drag show. Nolan called it the organization’s biggest legacy. Courtesy of Quincy Nolan

“My job as a president is to create a safe space, to help them find who they want to be, to be that voice of someone who will listen to them when they go through something rough,” Bucknor said. “That’s just what I’m hoping the organization will be — a safe haven for students.”

After many senior students on the e-board graduated last year, Gorick tried to revive the organization and strengthen their relationship with the LGBT Resource Center so that Pride Union would have a stronger presence on campus, Bucknor said.

Bucknor would like to emulate Hunter Gorick’s leadership skills, as Gorick had the initiative to start the Queer History Bingo.

“He’s a very outspoken person. He’s good at communicating with general body members, and he’s good at just being a leader,” Bucknor said. “Working close with him this year, I’ll try to get a lot of the good traits he has.”

Gorick first heard about Pride Union his freshman year through an ice cream social event hosted by the LGBT Resource Center. He decided to get involved with Pride Union because his high school didn’t have any LGBTQ organizations. In the past, Gorick has served as treasurer and president of Pride Union and is now vice president.

Gorick recalled being the only person left in Pride Union his junior year when he stepped in as a president. He had to work to recruit other e-board members to maintain the group’s status as a registered student organization, he said.

E-board members who were close to graduation supported Gorick and helped him transition into the challenge. That year, the organization grew the number of members a “considerable amount,” Gorick said.

This year, Pride Union would have hosted its 19th annual drag show, which Gorick said is the organization’s “biggest legacy on campus.”

“Our drag show is something not intended only for students, but the whole queer community in Syracuse,” Gorick said.

Gorick said something that he was proud of as Pride Union president was starting “Drag Queen History Month Bingo” on campus last year. Shangela from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” served as the host for the event, which won a 44 Stars of Excellence Award for Best New Event/Initiative offered by the Office of Student Activities.

(From left) Shea Couleé, Pearl Liasion, Bella Fantasia, Hexxa and Cyber Larose were a part of Pride Union’s annual drag show. Courtesy of Quincy Nolan

For National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, Pride Union usually draws messages of love, support and acceptance on the sidewalks of the Quad. But because of COVID-19, they couldn’t do it this year.

Overall, Gorick said that he’s really glad to have such a great friendship on top of the working relationship with other e-board members. The advice he would give to future e-board members is to plan things ahead of time as possible, he said.

“It’s always better to be proactive and on top of everything,” Gorick said.

Quincy Nolan, SU alumnus and former Pride Union President, said they first knew of Pride Union when Ian Laih, former treasurer of Pride Union, invited them to perform at Pride Union’s 15th annual drag show before Nolan was even a student at SU.

Nolan then transferred into SU and became Pride Union’s president for the 2018-19 academic year. When Nolan was president, Pride Union held movie nights and “gayme night” alongside SUNY-ESF students.

“It was a cool thing to bring ESF and SU together with a queer twist,” Nolan said. “I got to work with literally some of my best friends in the whole world to create the biggest, gayest thing I’ve ever been a part of.”

Published on October 26, 2020 at 9:37 pm