Tufts Podcast Network

**CW: Gun violence, discussion of Islamophobia** Dance and Drama Professor Kareem Khubchandani reads “In Praise of Latin Night at the Queer Club” by Justin Torres. The Orlando nightclub massacre on June 12th, 2016 was an assault on brown and black bodies in an LGBTQ scene. It disrupted what had been a sacred space, somewhere people could go to feel far away from “white, straight America.” Every year, Kareem reads this piece to his Intro to Queer Studies class -- because for him, being in the swirling and bumping club atmosphere is about “really living up to a kind of beauty that you believe you deserve.” When you hear the cadence and rhythm of Torres’ piece, you can almost feel that irresistible energy. In the final episode of season 2, we talk to Kareem about Orlando, drag queens, and care packages from his mom. Produced by Shirley Wang, Jenna Fleischer, and Bobby Familiar