ORLANDO | The organizers of the 16th annual Diva Invasion event at the University of Central Florida (UCF) overcame a major funding setback to host and event that raised more than $1,200 for the Zebra Coalition.
See a full Diva Invasion 2012 web gallery here!
UCF student Jen Arnold is a co-producer for Diva Invasions, and also serves on executive board of Equal@UCF, the student group that hosts the event every year.
“This year was a huge struggle because we lost our funding,” she said. “Diva Invasion was funded [by UCF] for 15 years and this year, they cut off the funding so we had to get creative and we got the funding we needed.”
Arnold said the school usually provides about $14,000-$15,000 to cover the event’s expenses, but because that funding was not granted, they went before the Student Senate and were able to obtain about $8,000.
“Our budget was cut in half and we didn’t have a lot to work with,” she said.
Arnold said no one is sure why the funding was pulled.
“We got a general answer that the numbers didn’t match up,” she said. “Of course the rumors were on campus that certain faculty members didn’t want the event on campus anymore.”
Despite the smaller budget, they were able to pull in more than 1,000 attendees. She said the event makes its money mostly from raffle tickets and donations because students get in free.
Equal@UCF is a registered student organization with a mission to provide a safe environment for students to interact and network with each other, engage in social activities, and develop personal character without fear of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, and to provide support and resources for students who have experienced such discrimination.
