By Jonica Monjeune

MARPLE, Pa. — Delaware County Community College invited students to celebrate National Coming Out Day with a game show that taught students about drug safety, hosted by professional drag queen Mary Muerte. The event, “Drag Me To Safety: A College Harm Reduction Game Show,” took place on Oct. 7, 2026, in the Marple Campus Small Auditorium.

As students walked in, they were greeted by event organizer Kyle MacIntyre. MacIntyre is the director of operations and programming at U.D.T.J., Delco’s LGBTQ+ community center. MacIntyre said his purpose in organizing the event is to share harm reduction information with the community in an entertaining and engaging manner to support mental health.

“What many people don’t know is the LGBTQ community has the highest rate of substance use disorder. So for us, our job is to save lives,” MacIntyre said.

The game was inspired by the popular game show “Jeopardy!” Three contestants were given the opportunity to choose a question among four categories worth up to 500 points. Muerte instructed the contestants to use a whistle to indicate their desire to answer a question.

The game challenged the contestants’ knowledge regarding naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, safety plans at events, and actions to take in overdose situations. “I host the event for the Harm Reduction game shows because I have a big passion for community education,” Muerte said. She added that she has no desire to tell students how to act but wants to keep everyone safe.

Before the final round of the game, Muerte performed two songs that were on theme with the “dead nurse” drag costume. The first song was a comedic song about performing surgery, while the second song featured “Shake It Out” by Florence and The Machine. Muerte danced around the room while lip syncing each song. During her final song, Muerte did a surprise outfit change taking off her top layer to reveal a bedazzled lingerie set Muerte made herself. Students were seen engaging with Muerte, handing her dollar bills as she danced, and were laughing and clapping along as she performed.

“The drag show was awesome. The songs were amazing, and the Jeopardy! was very informative but also funny. The contestants made it fun, so it was a great time,” Emily Ritins said. Her peers, Maggie Dalton and Lola Markford, agreed, saying that they also enjoyed the experience.

Cam Bellaria, also a drag performer, is a first-semester transfer student who wanted to show their support and learn about the different mental health resources provided by DCCC. Bellaria won first place in the game show and was awarded a $50 Wawa gift card.

“This is a really rewarding experience for me,” Bellaria said.

Gabe Lazur placed second and won a $25 Wawa gift card. Lazur shared that he felt a pull to attend the event and was glad that he did.

“I learned a lot and also picked up one of the Narcan and opioid packets to learn more,” Lazur said. He encourages students to learn and become informed about the resources that DCCC provides for safety and health. “Do what you can to learn about drug safety because it’s very important.”

“It was really fun, and I learned a lot about Narcan. I didn’t know it had different names and that you can apply it through both airways,” said Marko Ritter, an audience member.

As the event ended, Muerte encouraged students to grab supplies of Narcan. In addition, students were offered snacks and had the opportunity to win a $25 Starbucks gift card through a raffle at the Recovery Works PA table.

Delaware County Community College has partnered with AllOne Health to give students access to licensed mental health professionals. Students can use AllOne Health to explore different scopes of concerns such as anxiety, substance use, trauma, stress, grief, and more.

The DCCC Essential Student Resource Center (ESRC) was also a major contributor to the event. They had a table set up where students could ask questions about their resources and provided students with snacks. The ESRC is a place where students can find support in times of difficult financial situations, and can assist with academic resources, food, transportation, and more.

The Coming Out Day festivities continued Thursday, Oct. 8, when DCCC held its annual Coming Out Resource Fair. Organizations such as Free Mom Hugs, the LGBTQ+ club, and the ESRC lined the courtyard offering students support.

Students can find more information about DCCC’s resources on the college student support services webpage.