On Wednesday, April 10, Queer Asians and Allies, the Black Queer Students’ Association and the DeColores Collective, a Hispanic and Latine queer and transgender affinity organization, hosted a tea party at the University of Connecticut’s Asian American Cultural Center lounge in the Student Union. The name of the event is a play on words, as “T4T” is a reference to love between two transgender people.
Light refreshments, snacks and tea were provided. A kettle for heating water was also provided. Grian Wizner, president of DeColores, provided some mugs for those who didn’t bring their own.
When asked what it means to be a queer person of color, Justin Burchell, who attended the event at Wizner’s request and wasn’t affiliated with any of the organizations, said “Intersectionality is an aspect of that.” On the topic of his workplace, he said “Trinity Health is a pretty religious organization and I’m hyperaware of how I’m portrayed by others. There is that cultural oppression with Christianity, but the ideas are still there.” When talking about self-confidence and expressing yourself, Burchell said “I find myself suppressing parts of myself I don’t suppress at school or at home, like at Walmart I forget the oppression until I have to face it again like at work because I notice how I change how I talk and become more reserved.”
The event officially started when the three organizations introduced their goals with a slideshow of their e-boards and their organizations’ mission statements.
Members of the audience then introduced themselves with their names, pronouns, the mug that they chose or brought and what organization they most identified with. The audience applauded each and every time someone introduced themselves.
Rilee Roldan, president of Queer Asians and Allies, said to the audience “It’s almost the end of the semester. How are we feeling?” encouraging the audience to share “tea,” or personally-involved information. Erick Cheng, an e-board member of Queer Asians and Allies, said “Confidentiality is very important.”
To bolster socialization and camaraderie between the audience members, there were four discussion questions to avoid the basic lecture format of information alongside a slideshow. The four questions were: “What is your favorite music artist or song right now?,” “How would you describe your sense of style?,” “If you only could drink one thing forever (cannot be water), what would it be?” and “Do you have any pets? If not, what is your dream pet?” When thinking of answers for the choice of drink to replace water, the following question came up: “Do we have to deal with the health consequences?” The room agreed that there wouldn’t be any health complications to the question because it was hypothetical. As a result, responses to the question varied from “I would drink fat-free milk” to “I’m lactose intolerant. Fuck it, milkshakes.”
The audience clapped when Beyoncé was mentioned when discussing the question about current music taste. Wizner said “My favorite song right now is ‘Like A Stone’ by Audioslave. It reminds me of my dad.” Burchell said “This is a hot take, but ‘we can’t be friends’ by Ariana Grande. Artists can be problematic, but I can still enjoy the music.” The conversation at the table then turned to classical music. Allison De Angelis, treasurer of Queer Asians and Allies, said “My friend used to listen to a lot of Mozart” before going on a passionate tangent about how much she loved part one of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Spring” from “The Four Seasons.”
When asked when DeColores meets, Wizner said to check De-Colores’ Instagram @decloresuconn. Justin Christie, president of the Black Queer Students’ Association, said that BQSA meets “Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. at the African American Cultural Center.” Cheng said that Queer Asians and Allies meet “every other Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Asian American Cultural Center program room.”