Joe Bertolino stood in front of the audience of about 70 people and leaned in closely.

“As you can see this is `When the Gays Move into Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood,'” he said. “And . we’re the gays.”

Bertolino, associate dean of students at Barnard College of Columbia University, and his partner, Bil Leipold, director of quality improvement and professional development training at Rutgers University, gave a lecture about accepting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community Thursday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

The lecture, which Bertolino and Leipold tried to present in a humorous and non-threatening manner, started with some rules for the audience such as keeping an open mind, asking questions and agreeing to disagree.

Bertolino then asked audience members to yell out some terms used to describe homosexuals while Leipold wrote the words on poster board.

“Faggot! She said faggot! What a wonderful word,” Bertolino shouted when someone suggested the word.

Audience members were then asked to think of an individual they knew who was homosexual and to list off words to describe that person. This list included words such as artistic, talented and intelligent.

“The first list reduces us to who we suck, who we fuck and who we finger,” Leipold said. “The second list connects us to people.”

Both men took some time to describe their experiences when they came out as homosexuals. Bertolino said they made the choice to be open, not to be homosexual.

“I didn’t wake up one day and decide, hmm, I’m going to piss off my whole family, I’m going to be discriminated against and I’m going to be queer,” he said.

Leipold gave some suggestions on how to act when someone comes out about his homosexuality, such as what to say and what to expect. “Don’t assume we’re attracted to you,” he said. “This is for the guys. We have taste.”

The end of the program focused on the heterosexual privilege, which are opportunities heterosexuals take for granted which homosexuals cannot obtain, such as marriage, child custody and insurance. Bertolino said the LGBT community is not looking for special rights, but for equality in all issues.

“Please remember that when the issue comes up,” he said.

Josh Trumm, freshman in agricultural studies, said the event was interesting.

“I’m walking out a little more open-minded,” he said.