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sports + culture Lilly Hudson: A Coleman Coliseum fan favorite 1B Manisha Ramachandran Staff Writer Gymnast Lilly Hudson has been building a name for herself in the Tuscaloosa community since she started her time at the University in 2022. Friday night gymnastics meets in Tuscaloosa end with Hudson competing with her well-known “Alabama” floor routine. In her three years competing for the <strong>Crimson</strong> Tide, her floor routine is something that sticks out and that the home crowd loves. Hudson said the crowd in Coleman Coliseum means a lot to her when she performs her floor routine. “It’s really cool to see the crowd just go crazy right when they hear ‘Sweet Home [Alabama]’ and then end with ‘Dixie[land Delight],’” Hudson said. “<strong>The</strong> energy from the fans is what drives us.” Hudson’s routine strikes near and dear to the <strong>Crimson</strong> Tide fans’ hearts with some popular tunes that fans are accustomed to Despite the desires of some current Alabama legislation, LGBTQ+ history remains an essential area of knowledge for both the nation and Alabama. At the University’s history department, efforts to educate and research Southern LGBTQ+ history exist through the Frances S. Summersell Center for the Study of the South and University-offered courses. <strong>The</strong> Summersell Center was founded at the University in 2006. Since then, it has focused on shedding light on the racial and sexual history of the Deep South through research and events. <strong>The</strong> center’s director, John Giggie, views its research as important as it sheds light on “a vital strand in the story of the University’s and state’s past.” hearing at a Saturday night Alabama football game. Hudson’s routine has a way of bringing the fans in Coleman Coliseum to their feet on a Friday night. Hudson’s Alabama floor routine has brought her four event titles in her junior season: Arkansas (9.95), Florida (9.925), Auburn (9.925) and the Texas Woman’s quad meet (9.95). Hudson scored a career high of 9.975 on the floor in 2023 against Auburn. In her sophomore season, Hudson also had a successful year with her floor routine. She earned second on the floor, with a 9.95, at the SEC championships. She also earned one floor exercise title in her sophomore season. For her rookie season, Hudson competed on the floor 12 times, and scored a 9.9 or better on eight of them. Hudson excels on every other apparatus as well, with a few perfect 10s, as well as a slew of titles and routines “Not to do so is to produce a thin and incomplete record of history and give short shrift to the accomplishments and struggles for equality of queer Alabamians,” Giggie said. Currently, the center has a team of both undergraduate and graduate students who are using historical archives to bring Tuscaloosa’s LGBTQ+ history to life by creating a digital walking tour of Tuscaloosa. This tour will focus on businesses and spaces owned by LGBTQ+ people in downtown Tuscaloosa that otherwise have been overlooked. Giggie hopes that the tour will change the current perception of Tuscaloosa. “<strong>The</strong> digital walking tour of downtown Tuscaloosa hopes to offer a different memory of the city and that tied career or season bests. On the vault, Hudson has scored one perfect 10 in her junior season, against Florida. This was her second career 10, her first one occurring during her sophomore season on the balance beam against LSU. Gymnastics head coach Ashley Johnston praised Hudson’s 10 on the vault at Florida. “I just want to emphasize that word ‘breakthrough,’” Johnston said. “We talk a lot about finding our edge, and sometimes you’re going to go a little over, sometimes you’re going to be a little under. I think Lilly is somebody that has experienced that, but because she continues to be brave, to step up and really go for it, she found that edge tonight. She had that breakthrough moment.” Throughout Hudson’s time building her name and reputation with the <strong>Crimson</strong> Tide, she has University researchers strive to bring LGBTQ+ history to light John Armstrong Contributing Columnist Alabama gymnast Lilly Hudson performs her floor routine during the quad meet on <strong>March</strong> 8 in Coleman Coliseum. CW / Natalie Teat its physical landscape, one that recognizes queer businesses, spaces and neighborhoods that have always been part of the fabric of daily life but have no public record,” Giggie said. He also noted what drives the center's studies. “<strong>The</strong> center’s initiatives in queer history emerged from students who asked for a more complete history of the South,” he said. He added that the center’s drive to uncover LGBTQ+ history came from “students’ ambitions to create a version of the past different than the one they inherited when first stepping foot on campus.” As such, the center’s goal is not to unduly focus on one part of history but to give much-needed attention to an overlooked piece of Southern culture. always been able to capture a title; throughout her three seasons, she has earned 10 event titles. She earned five of them from her sophomore year: floor, beam and vault once and all-around twice. <strong>The</strong> other five are from Hudson’s junior season: vault once and floor four times. After Hudson took the floor title against Arkansas this season, she talked about how her team helps to build her momentum. “My team is my rock. <strong>The</strong>y have my back just like I have theirs,” Hudson said. “I committed, I went to floor, and I was like, ‘I’m giving it everything I have for them.’ And I’m really happy with how it turned out for us.” For Hudson’s career in Coleman Coliseum, so far, she holds a career best of 10 on the vault, 10 on the balance beam, 9.975 on the floor, 9.925 on the uneven bars and 39.575 in the all-around. Sexual and LGBTQ+ history are also vital parts of the currently offered “Sexual Revolutions in America” course in the Department of History. <strong>The</strong> undergraduate course, a section of HY 306, focuses on the evolution of American sexuality and how those changes affected greater American culture. To uncover that history, the course delves into subjects ranging from the history of dating to abortion and same-sex relationships. Anna Arnwine, a sophomore majoring in art history, is currently taking the course. She said it exposes an essential part of history that is invaluable to reflecting on the past and present. In fact, Arnwine argued that the nature of the course’s content would be dangerous to restrict. “History is an essential As she excelled on the mats and earned titles and new career bests, Hudson collected several awards. In her 2023 season, Hudson finished No. 16 in the nation on the floor and No. 7 in the SEC. As a rookie, Hudson earned second-team Championship All-America in the all-around at the NCAA championships as well as being named the SEC Freshman of the Week three times. Along with earning second-team Championship and Freshman of the Week, Hudson tied former Alabama gymnast Morgan Dennis for the highest all-around debut score by a <strong>Crimson</strong> Tide freshman, with a 39.525. Hudson has already built a name for herself throughout Tuscaloosa and among the fans who come out for a Friday night at Coleman Coliseum. With her senior season still left, she will continue to be a legend in the making. resource for students and scholars,” she said. “Hiding such a large part of it would severely hinder our understanding of societal changes.” She also noted how incredible it has been to learn how societal movements have shaped government action. This remains important in the wake of Senate Bill 129, which prohibits public schools and colleges from funding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and limits discussions of certain “divisive concepts.” On <strong>March</strong> 20, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law. “It’s mind-blowing how these laws and regulations still affect us today, even after hundreds of years. Especially in conservative states like the South, their influence is still felt,” Arnwine said.
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