Internet to Display Drag Ball

For the first time, all can experience Oberlin's androgynous celebration

This year, for the first time, people all around the world will have the opportunity to experience Drag Ball, annually Oberlin's most revered all-campus party. In an attempt to avoid thematic replication of previous Drag Balls, sponsor Wilder Hall will broadcast the festivities on the internet at the website www.hereandnow.net.

Assistant Director of the Student Union Chris Baymiller said that a commitment to maintain a fresh spirit inspired this year's decision to utilize modern technology and make Drag Ball available to the world. "We want to make it unique, and the internet is such a huge thing, a creative way of taking Drag Ball to a whole other level."

On a Steel Horse I Ride: Senior Amy Wolf readies Wilder for the inevitable chaos of Drag Ball. (photo by Brian Hodgkin)

Senior Andi Mignolo, designer of the dragball.com website, agreed, citing the large amount of regular visitors to the hereandnow.net website, also known on campus as Internet House. "Hereandnow.net has a solid base of users and I hope a large amount of people watch," she said. Mignolo stressed hereandnow.net's involvement as crucial to allowing Drag Ball to be broadcast on the internet. "They already had the necessary technology - thank God they were willing to help," she said. Baymiller echoed Mignolo's praise of hereandnow.net. "Their expertise and willingness allowed this step," he said.

Although this year's Drag Ball will become available to an audience outside of Oberlin, attendees will have to have to swallow an increased cost of admission. Whereas traditionally a student ticket has cost $5, the price of admission has been raised to $7. "The internet is certainly costing and that's the one reason we've had to raise the cost of admission," Baymiller said.

Sophomore Nina Lalli expressed reservation about the prospect of innumerable strangers viewing students dressed in clothing intended for the opposite sex. "I feel like the internet thing is stupid because everybody's just going to be extremely embarrased about what they looked like and what they did." Sophomore Emma Straub concurred, asking, "What planet is this? - it's so millennium."

Mignolo detailed Drag Ball's failed attempts to attract the attention of HBO's Real Sex program and MTV, concluding that hereandnow.net proved more interested in displaying Drag Ball to a broader audience. Baymiller agreed, saying, "Instead of waiting for the media to broadcast us we're letting the internet take us international." In affirmation of Drag Ball 2000's international spirit, both Mignolo and Baymiller mentioned that Wilder student workers studying in Paris for the semester will log on to enjoy the action from afar.

Although internet coverage offers a fresh flavor to this year's soiree, all of Drag Ball's traditional elements will be maintained, including the popular runway competition, in which daring competitors display the outrageousness or elegance of their attire for a panel of judges.

Mignolo asserted her hope for the internet broadcast of Drag Ball to become an yearly undertaking. "I'd really like for it to be annual," she said. "It's a good way for a lot of people to know what Drag Ball is and it's good for publicity." Baymiller agreed, citing this year as a test to discover how to better showcase the event to a larger audience in the future. "This year is kind of a way to figure out what we can do better because we want this to continue," he said.

The feed to the internet will come via three cameras, stragegically placed in areas traditionally featuring the most eye-popping and risqué action. One will focus on the runway, another the 'Sco and one will rove the premises to capture the reveries of the androgynous masses. Baymiller exalted the step toward modernization that this year's Drag Ball has undertaken. "This will give people a taste of this unique thing that definitely typifies Oberlin."