Creating awareness of LGBT issues on campus and integrating LGBT individuals into the rest of the community so they are not a “part of the community apart” is the goal of this year’s Awareness Week.

The events, sponsored by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Ally Alliance, gives Iowa State a chance to learn about LGBT issues.

This year’s theme, “A Part of the Community Apart,” was chosen by the Alliance as a way to bridge the gap between LGBT individuals on campus and their peers.

“We’re part of every community, but we’re often singled out,” said Joel Taylor, LGBTAA special events coordinator and sophomore in political science.

The week will provide discussions on each segment of the LGBT population and the issues they face. Awareness Days is the counterpart to National Coming Out Days, held in the fall, and is intended to spread awareness on campus.

“We have events planned to look at how society views certain aspects of our community, how we are treated and how some of us live,” Taylor said.

The week is scheduled to start off with an energetic rally and end on a high note with singer Ellis at the Maintenance Shop, Taylor said.

Ben Taylor, Alliance president and senior in computer engineering, said his goal for the week is to make his organization’s presence known, as well as the presence of LGBT issues.

“If we can make one person aware and inform them of something they didn’t know before, the week will be a success,” he said. “We want to reach out to gain support and educate the community.”

The week’s keynote speaker is Debra Davis, a retired transgender high school librarian from Minneapolis. She will speak on the interplay of gender and sex at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

The week will also feature an LGBT poster campaign on campus. The campaign’s theme will be the same as the week’s theme and consist of a series of posters with pictures of LGBT individuals as well as allies, with the questions, “Can you tell which person is a lesbian? Gay? Bisexual? Transgendered? Ally?”

“The point of these posters is to show that there are no defining characteristics of an LGBT person,” said David Perez, treasurer of LGBTAA and sophomore in physics. “Sexual orientation doesn’t affect who we are.”