Steven Sanchez made history Friday when fellow students crowned him homecoming queen of the University of Northern Iowa.
Sanchez, 21, was born male but identifies as both male and female. He is UNI’s first transgender homecoming queen or king. Sanchez, who as a child endured relentless bullying, said the moment left him speechless. A standing room-only crowd had packed into a campus auditorium and erupted in applause when his name was read.
“I never would have thought years ago that I’d be standing on a stage, people cheering for me because they voted me homecoming queen,” he said. “It was unbelievable.”
Yaw Kyeremateng was crowned king.
ORIGINAL POST:
Steven Sanchez hopes to make history tonight — again.
Sanchez, 21, is already the first transgender person to be voted a homecoming royalty finalist at the University of Northern Iowa. Sanchez will find out shortly after 8 p.m. today if 2013 is the year UNI crowns its first transgender homecoming queen.
Sanchez was born male but identifies as both male and female. In his bid for the homecoming crown, the crowd roared his approval this week as he performed two songs as Selena Gomez, the pop princess who has dated Justin Bieber, a friend said.
A magnetic personality and a deep reserve of inner strength has propelled Sanchez to where he is today, said David Pope, a friend and president of UNI Proud. The student group advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Sanchez has become a crowd favorite on stage as “Lola,” since arriving two years ago on the campus of 12,159 students in Cedar Falls, Pope said. Severe bullying forced Sanchez to drop out of high school in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. He later earned his diploma and an associate degree at a community college.
“He can dance amazingly well in high heels, which always stuns the women in the crowd,” Pope said. “You can tell he loves dancing. People really respond to how excited he seems.”
In the process, UNI has become a place where Sanchez finally feels at home. His open, welcoming attitude puts others at ease, Pope said.
“Even though Steven has dealt with a lot of bullying and cruelty in his past, he’s just unabashedly himself,” Pope said. “I think a lot of people on campus are inspired by that, and feel they can be more like themselves around him.”
Ruth Chananie, a professor and adviser for UNI Proud, said she’s proud of Sanchez for having the courage to put himself in a public spotlight. Student leaders and university administrators have backed LGBT students and their allies, she said. However, intolerance has at times left an ugly mark on campus.
Last year, when UNI Proud campaigned for an LGBT center on campus, a poster in a computer lab used slurs to decry UNI for “becoming a gay school,” Chananie said.
“Steven is just trying to be himself — and be herself,” Chananie said. “It is a statement to say that every person should be accepted for who they are, and be included regardless of their gender expression, sexual orientation or anything other thing.”