The host, Ritzy Bitz, third from right, with the contestants, from left: Tyler Martinson, Phil Cohen, Julio Ramos, Christopher Panebianco, Ben Ben-Zvi, and Felipe Garzon.
Delivering a good time for a good cause, the Second Annual Mount Sinai Charity Drag Race was held in Stern Auditorium on Thursday, February 6. More than 400 people attended the event, which was inspired by the reality television competition RuPaul’s Drag Race and raised $7,800 for the Ali Forney Center—a Harlem-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting homeless LGBTQ youth. The Drag Race was organized by oSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at Mount Sinai; the Stonewall Alliance; and the Office for Diversity and Inclusion.
The event was hosted by drag star Ritzy Bitz and featured six contestants: four Icahn School of Medicine students, a research associate, and a New York University graduate student.
“This event hits everything we stand for—increasing visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community, bringing together diverse students, faculty, and staff, and actively engaging the broader New York community,” says an organizer and contestant, Christopher Panebianco, PhD candidate in Biomedical Sciences. “And it’s a fun night.”