The Wisconsin Welcome is an annual celebration for new students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It usually consists of events such as the Sunburst Festival, the Bakke Block Party, and the W Project.
This year, it included a “Drag Brunch Bingo” hosted by the Office of Student Transition and Family Engagement and the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center.
The unconventional bingo game, which featured provocative performances and mocked Christianity, was held on Sunday, September 6 in Memorial Union. The poster advertised four drag queens featured in the event: Cowphusia Mylkhymn, Malaiya Marvel, Krystal Kuttabish, and Cynthia Mooseknuckle.
Caitlyn LoMonte, Gender and Sexuality Campus Center Director for Student Success, Education and Dialogue, gave an opening presentation on drag. The slides displayed definitions such as “drag queen,” “drag king,” and “drag pageant.”
One slide LoMonte presented listed rules and “drag etiquette” for the event. The first bullet point said to “leave your assumptions at the door” because “drag is all about challenging norms and expectations.” Another rule said, “Tipping can be one way to show appreciation and is a popular custom at drag shows.”
One drag queen repeatedly called an audience member a “twink” and joked that the game was “good Christian bingo with good Christian values.”
The drag queen also told the players to scream bingo “like you’re faking something.” A pride flag was the prize for round one.
The second round was the “tops and bottoms” round. The drag queen joked that all the men are “bottoms” in Madison.
Throughout the game, drag queens would perform by walking through the tables to dance and collect tips from the clapping bingo players.
“Wisconsin Welcome is a multi-week celebration that offers first-year and transfer students more than 400 events to discover Madison, meet fellow Badgers, and to find their campus community,” UW-Madison public affairs director Gillian Drummond said in a statement to The Madison Federalist.
“Events are organized and funded by various campus departments, student organizations, and community organizations.”
She did not answer what the decision process was for making “Drag Queen Bingo” a Wisconsin Welcome event or specifically how it was funded.
The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center co-sponsored the event and had a table set up to give away stickers, pamphlets and pens.
The GSCC says it envisions a university “that actively addresses oppression in all its forms and affirms, includes, and celebrates people across the spectrum of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, including their intersectional experiences and perspectives.”
The GSCC website has a map of all-gender restrooms on the UW-Madison campus, a “Pronouns Matter Page,” and material for students who are seeking a gender and name change.
The GSCC hosted many LGBTQ events last year, such as activities for National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. This event was open to students and staff to create friendship bracelets and other art projects.
One GSCC employee said that “in the midst of anti-trans rhetoric maintaining purchase on national platforms, we know that building community power is more important than ever.”
Another event hosted by the GSCC last December was the Trans Monologues and Talent Showcase. This event showcased “poets, musicians, and a monologist” to perform for International Transgender Day of Remembrance.
UW-Madison students, staff and faculty can request trainings from the GSCC on topics such as “LGBTQ+ inclusion and intervention” and “Trans Health and Clinical Practice.”
The GSCC Linktree lists a section of “Sex Worker Resources.” It includes links such as “Sex Work and Queer Politics in Three Acts” and “Unpacking harmful myths around sex work.”
LoMonte is also the Director of Education and Dialogue in the UW-Madison Office of Inclusion Education. This office was founded in 2020 to “centralize and expand diversity, inclusion, and social justice education efforts within Student Affairs.”
While UW-Madison dissolved its central DEI division in 2025, it has maintained DEI practices and offices on campus. The Office of Inclusion Education has events planned throughout the upcoming semester.