Many people believe that most humans fall into two categories when it comes to their sexual orientation; either an individual is straight or they are homosexual.

IMPACT has put together an event called, “Are you on the Spectrum?” to inform others on how many different types of sexualities and gender identities exist.

For the second time this year, “Are you on the Spectrum?” will be hosted by Career and Leadership Development’s Pride Resource Center. This event is facilitated to teach others about how wide the “spectrum” truly is.

Junior Christina McCracken is a leadership assistant for PRC and plans to have more than 100 students in attendance this semester, doubling the event’s numbers from the previous semester.

“We are trying to involve faculty and the different deans and chairs of departments,” McCracken said. “We want to get others involved in this event.”

The event explains different types of vocabulary used by the IMPACT community, such as pansexual, demisexual, asexual, fluid, and genderqueer.

Senior Katka Showers-Curtis, co-president of Being Real In Doing     Gender Equality (BRIDGE), said UW-Whitewater’s “Are you on the Spectrum?” event generated interest from people not only in the Whitewater community, but the Madison, Milwaukee and Beloit communities as well.

Showers-Curtis said she noticed advantages from getting faculty involved and encouraging students to participate in the event last year.

“Students were able to learn from a different perspective that they wouldn’t have gotten in their classroom,” Showers-Curtis said. “Also, some professors gave students extra credit for participating, and we got more people to come into the resource centers to see what was all available.”

The event will be explaining a lot of new vocabulary, which McCracken said is necessary in order for people to understand that “gender and sexuality goes far beyond the set diagrams.”

One of the main activities will have four stations split up into four groups, having each cover a different aspect of human sexuality or expression.

These groups are biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

“This activity will help show how different aspects are interlinked but not dependent on each other,” McCracken said. “For example, you can be trans and be a lesbian, or be non-binary (non-female and non-male) and still consider yourself gay.”

Junior Tempestt Ballenger, president of IMPACT, attended “Are you on the Spectrum?” last semester and said it did a great job of “stomping stereotypes” and creating a better understanding of LGBT and the growing terminology.

Showers-Curtis said she is hopeful that the conversation will prosper after the event when others have an opportunity to learn of the growing vocabulary and terms in the LGBT community.

“We want people to continue the conversations and not be afraid of the subject,” Showers-Curtis said. “I think a lot of people are like ‘Oh my gosh! I don’t want to talk about that!’”

McCracken said she feels that conversations about this topic could lead to a better college environment.

“Expanding people’s perspectives on things and eliminating social injustice through person-to-person interaction will help create a safer environment on campus,” McCracken said.

“Are you on the Spectrum?” will be held on Monday, Feb. 27 from 5:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in room 275A in the University Center.

“No matter what orientation you are, you are a person and you should be treated as one,” Ballenger said. “It all reflects back to respecting others.”