This Pride month, the Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity (OAEO) offered members of the Tulane community a free LGBT history tour in the French Quarter. If that wasn’t exciting enough, they also provided a lunch and keynote speech from School of Liberal Arts History PhD candidate Bobby Fieseler, the acclaimed author of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation and a Tulane Mellon Fellow. I was immediately interested in attending when the event was announced, but the tour and discussions exceeded my expectations.

We started by meeting as a group at the front of campus. OAEO gave us gift bags with pride shirts, electric fans, and snacks; the energy was immediately welcoming and fun. When we got to the French Quarter, we split up into groups for the walking tour. I was lucky enough to be in a group with Frank Perez, a local gay legend and director of the LGBT Archives of Louisiana. As Fieseler said at the lunch, “Frank somehow has everyone’s phone number and knows everything about gay history in New Orleans.” Our tour started at the Jackson Square statue, where Perez pointed out that precolonial New Orleans (“Bulbancha”) was incredibly queer and non-heteronormative. As our tour continued through the French Quarter, Frank told us about the first lesbian and gay Mardi Gras krewes like Ishtar, trans trailblazers like Courtney Sharp, tragic hate crimes like the murder of Fernando Rios, and perseverance from the entire local LGBT population in places like Oz and Cafe Lafitte in Exile. The entire group was captivated by Perez’s storytelling and the weight of these moments.

After the walking tour, we went to Muriel’s for a delicious, air-conditioned lunch. After the bread was brought out, Fieseler started his talk on the Up Stairs Lounge tragedy. He explained the atmosphere of the lounge in vivid detail, calling it “loving, multipurpose, beautiful,” and “the real-life gay version of Cheers.” He sang the Up Stairs Lounge’s unofficial anthem: “United we stand, divided we fall. And if our backs should ever be against the wall, we'll be together, together, you and I.” He gave us an equally vivid description of the brutal murder of the 32 people in the fire. The speech was candid, hard-hitting, and emotional. Several people in the room were crying. Fieseler emphasized that at the time of the tragedy, news and publications surrounding the event were scarce and often negative. He spoke about how many loved ones of the deceased would not claim their children, because they were found at a gay bar. Several people in the room were brought to tears by the recounting".

Fieseler authored the resolution that the New Orleans City Council passed in 2022 as an apology for the treatment of the Up Stairs Lounge victims nearly 50 years ago. The resolution is an example of the value history plays in present times. “By publishing and piecing together histories like this, we become very powerful…You change the way that history is remembered,” Fieseler said. After the speech, the crowd gave a standing ovation. During the Q&A, audience members asked sobering questions about the current state of affairs, the more recent Pulse Nightclub tragedy in 2016, and stories from the fire victims’ children. Not willing to end on a low note, Fieseler led the crowd in a chant: “Queer! Books! Queer! Books! Queer! Books!” Everyone laughed, relieved at the positive spin.

Participants received a free copy of Fieseler’s book, Tinderbox, on the way out of the restaurant. Georgie Gardiner, an associate professor in Philosophy, told me how much she appreciated seeing the “ecology of learning at Tulane” in action and felt it was an honor to have Fieseler at Tulane. I left with a new appreciation for history as a field, but especially with the importance of sharing queer histories. The story of the Up Stairs Lounge is tragic and difficult to hear, but it is important to honor the lives lost and learn from the past.

Additional information about Perez, Fiesler, the Up Stairs Lounge, and local LGBT history can be found on their websites.

Pride decor in the French Quarter.

Student musician Jackson Shaeffer performed his original percussion composition “In Good Company” during the 2025 SLA Undergraduate Diploma Ceremony in tribute to his favorite musicians and mentors.

The piece's title references the lineage of drummers and musicians Jackson worked with during his time at Tulane and in New Orleans. Rooted in gratitude and admiration, it acknowledges the musical kinship he formed with peers and friends who supported him along the way. Themes of reflection, improvisation, and community were all at the forefront of his mind while developing the piece — ultimately affirming that music is not a solitary pursuit, even when performed alone. "I am thankful that all of these people have played a major role in helping me develop the tools I need to succeed as an artist and as a person," he shared.

Jackson graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music and plans to stay in New Orleans for the foreseeable future to continue working as a performer and educator.

View Jackson's musical performance:
 

Remi Bass, class poet for the 2025 School of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Diploma Ceremony, recited her original poem “An Aubade Steeped in Bittersweet Light” to fittingly welcome the dawn of a new chapter. 

Remi stumbles across the term aubade — a poem or song written for the early morning/dawn; that both greets/welcomes the dawn while lamenting on the end of a night filled with revelry and love — through a New York Times poetry challenge email. The first aubade she read was Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "Recuerdo." 

"Once I found out there is a type of poem written for limbo moments in time and the complex array of emotions / feelings experienced in those moments, I knew it was the perfect poetic genre for my Commencement poem," she elaborated.

Post-graduation, Remi plans to pursue an MFA in creative writing. 
 

"An Aubade Steeped in Bittersweet Light" 
I’m not sure I’m ready to say goodbye  
to the dazzling oaks and their Spanish moss blankets,  
who reach out their arms without expecting return,  
and hold fields full of wisdom we have yet to discern.    

I’m not sure how to hold 
the simultaneous states 
of wishing for more time and recognizing  
we’ve had four years to revel and learn and reflect 
on where we’ve been, who we are,  
and what we haven’t done yet! 

When you look back on your time 
in this magical city, remember 
the warm rush of light glowing inside,  
your giddy, happy feet 
tap tap tapping to the groove of brass bands  
leading a second line where for a moment, you can  
just breathe and glide through,  
smoothly, with ease, 
can simply dance and keep dancing 
for there’s no need to appease  
pesky requests or choose what to do next,  
except move your body  
to the sweet sweet music  
buzzing between your toes  
and up through your bones  
as it swallows you whole  
into a world of pure peace— 
a collective effervescence  
that shall never cease. 

As you can see, we don’t do this alone, 
we don’t need to brave hurricanes  
all on our own, or worry  
that one day we’ll cease to be known,  
for you’ll always have a place in my heart: home sweet home <3 
 

View Remi reading her poem: