Students, staff and faculty members of color came together in the Memorial Union to socialize and sing karaoke during the Live Your Truth: Queer and Trans Students of Color Party on Wednesday.

The Live Your Truth: Queer and Trans Students of Color Party is an event co-hosted by the Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success and the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. The party aimed to be an affinity space for students, faculty and staff of color who identify as trans and/or queer.

“This event is important to campus when thinking about where are the spaces or times that say that this is a space specifically centering queer and trans people of color,” said Clare Lemke, assistant director of The Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success.

The party was held in the Cardinal Room. People of all ages attended the event.

Torrell Foree, program coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, said this event is important because there isn’t a definitive space for people who identify as queer and trans and also of color. The purpose of the event is to help define that space. 

On one side of the entrance there was a table with name tags where people could write their names and pronouns. On the other side was a gallery walk where students could write and answer a variety of questions.

Some of the questions included “What other things would you like to do this year with the QTPOC community at Iowa State?,” “How do you like to connect with people?” and “Why did you come tonight?”

Karaoke was a popular event with the microphone never being empty for long. Songs from varying artists and time periods were sung and many times the crowd joined in and attendees sang together. 

“This is your place here, this is your community,” said Foree.