Students were able to gain perspective into the lives of gay students at a presentation Monday in the Alumni Memorial Union.

The "Leadership Training and LGBT Issues" presentation, geared toward presidents of fraternities and sororities, was hosted by the Gay/Straight Alliance.

It was meant to teach students how to become better allies for all Marquette students, said Christian Eichenlaub, a senior in the College of Communication and president of GSA.

As the presentation began, all in attendance were asked to write a single derogatory term used to describe gays onto a T-shirt with the word "gay" written largely across it.

Some of the words students came up with included "fruity," "queer," "fag" and "homo."

"Would any of you be willing to wear this T-shirt for a day?" asked Griff Sellnow, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and education commissioner of GSA.

For every student who wears this shirt outwardly, there are two or three other students who wear it inwardly, he said.

"We're here to educate," Eichenlaub said. "We want to make sure every student feels comfortable in every aspect of life at Marquette."

Nine out of 10 students report hearing derogatory terms used for gay students, and four out of five gay students report harassment, said Eichenlaub, who got the statistics from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

In addition, one-third of student suicides are linked to sexuality issues, he said.

Rather than using derogatory terms, students should remember "GLBTQA," or gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allies, he said.

Eichenlaub said the phrase "sexual orientation" is preferred over "sexual preference," for most say sexuality is not choice or phase.

He said derogatory language is never acceptable because "you never truly know who you're going to encounter" that is gay.

Attendees were then asked to direct a series of questions toward a heterosexual male and female, including "when did you decide you were heterosexual?" and "could it be that your heterosexuality is just a phase?"

The exercise was meant to illustrate the isolation gay and lesbian students often face on a daily basis, Sellnow said.

Eichenlaub and Sellnow then composed several hypothetical situations to which students were asked to respond.

"You find out a potential new member is openly gay and has a boy/girlfriend," Sellnow said. "Does this affect your decision?"

Most students in attendance answered no.

Eichenlaub said students should be flattered if someone talks to them about their sexuality, for it is something that is very personal.

In addition, students should "always follow-up" rather than assuming the other person is uncomfortable with talking about it, Sellnow said.

In the past, GSA has presented for JUSTICE, National Coming Out Week and Cobeen Hall, Eichenlaub said.

All athletes will be required to attend one session next semester, he said.

"As a Greek leader on campus, I thought it was very important," said Justin Hanson, senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of Delta Chi. "It's important for all organizations on campus to accept diversity and to actively seek to diversify their organizations."