The Spectator

Reflecting on the Year Since Sundborg’s Damaging Drag Show Comments

May 1, 2019

“I’m just looking forward to how I can support and how the university’s going to continue to support all students, LGBTQ+...

Anything But a Drag: Performances Highlight Queer Experiences on Campus

April 10, 2019

Last year, copies of The Spectator went missing from the display stands. It was revealed Father David Leigh, S.J., a current professor...

To the Editors of the Spectator and to all members of the Seattle U community.

Guest Writer, Author

April 26, 2018

I want to begin by commending the journalists of the Spectator who are engaging with real issues on the Seattle U campus and challenging the university to live up to our Mission, from the campus demonstration policy, to the recent administrative opposition to unionization by adjunct faculty, and, of course, most recently around the removal of copies of ...

To the Editor

Guest Writer, Author

April 26, 2018

I am writing as a former student journalist and Spectator editor 1967/1968. From my understanding the tradition of drag shows and its attendant milieu probably date to a history some two millenia old. They in fact may well predate Christianity. So we are dealing with an artistic event which is steeped in virtually all cultures. It is mea...

To the Editor

Guest Writer, Author

April 26, 2018

The English Department writes to express support for The Spectator staff, who have the responsibility of making editorial decisions. As a Department, we value the crucial work that journalists do and we value the need for them to be independent. We also stand with LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff in our department, college, and campus communit...

Dear President Sundborg

Guest Writer, Author

April 26, 2018

I am writing as a two-time alumna of and past donor to Seattle University (which I attended for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees) to register my deep disappointment with your recent public description of a photo of a drag performance featured on The Spectator’s front page as "obscene" and "indecent." The photo is neith...

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff of Seattle University

Guest Writer, Author

April 26, 2018

We write to express our strongest support for The Specatator article reporting on the 2018 Drag Show, for the editorial decision to run a photograph of a performer at the show on the cover, and for the professional coverage of the actions of Fr. David Leigh, the comments of Fr. Stephen Sundborg, and the subsequent responses by the campus commun...

‘I hope those students resist’: SU’s Queer Community Responds

April 25, 2018

Growing up in a small, conservative town in Washington State, Mina Gibbs came out when she was 15 years old. Because of her sexual...

Dear Spectator,

Guest Writer, Author

April 19, 2018

We wanted to write in support of the editorial decisions made by the staff of The Spectator over the past two issues. As a department, we believe in the importance of quality reporting and in excellent journalism. We teach our students to ask hard questions, chase important stories, and to make proud editorial decisions. We believe that your recent...

Dear Sundborg: Hands Off Queer Bodies

Guest Writer, Author

April 19, 2018

Seattle University still calls me from time to time. It’s usually about money. Sometimes I’ll throw a bone and send some change their way. However, after hearing President Sundborg’s response to an image of a drag performer printed in The Spectator, and a professors theft of several issues on newstands, that money may be kept in my pocket. In...

Seattle U Jesuit Deems Photo Offensive, Pulls Copies From Stands

April 18, 2018

Seattle University hosted its 10th annual Drag Show earlier this month. The event was lauded as a celebration of inclusion an...

Off with No Troubles, SU Drag Show 2018 was the Bubbles

April 16, 2018

What do water and gender expression have most in common? Fluidity. Exploring drag performance with an “Under the Sea” the...