Greg Lescoe was killing time in the HUB-Robeson Center yesterday when a brightly colored sign proclaiming "Live Homosexual Acts" in curvy lettering caught his eye.

"I figured it was a play on words and I was curious," Lescoe (sophomore-English and Japanese) said.

Lescoe followed the signs to 107 HUB, where, to his surprise, he witnessed homosexuals engaging in raw and real activities -- a dozen students sat scribbling homework problems, debating with friends over the Undergraduate Student Government election and glancing over the newspaper.

The point of the activity was to show lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students engaged in typical college student activities.

"The first thing people think is that it is sexually explicit," Allies President Christy Merchant said, referring to the advertised event, Live Homosexual Acts.

"But LGBT people aren't defined by their sexuality. We're everyday people doing everyday things," she added.

The event was part of the Allies-sponsored Pride Week, which started Monday.

As Christina Lenn (freshman-intergrative arts) participated in the staging by sitting and skimming a textbook for class, she said the purpose of the event was to break down stereotypes.

"[The signs] were supposed to lead people to believe that people were having sex in here because that's what people think about homosexuals -- sex sells," she said.

John Alvarez (freshman-psychology) was reading A Tale of Two Cities and listening to a portable CD player as students curiously peeked inside the room.

"You see people come in ... they laugh and hopefully come to the realization that we are like everyone else," he said.

Lescoe said he believes the students who checked out the event were already open-minded about LGBT students and those who are intolerant probably did not give Live Homosexual Acts a chance.

In addition to the visuals, students had the opportunity to sign a letter to Congress asking for the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Luke Vitale (freshman-division of undergraduate studies), another student who participated in the LGBT event, said the request to rescind the policy is close to his heart because he was discharged from the Navy for being gay.

Vitale, a former electrician's mate second-class shop supervisor, was in the Navy for four years before being honorably discharged in 2001.

Throughout his duty, Vitale said he suffered discrimination from the other soldiers.

"I used to sleep in my shop," he said. "I didn't want to have to deal with anyone's ignorance."

Vitale said that when he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality to his peers, he was immediately discharged.

"I'm not going to be something I'm not," he said.

"I'm not going to lie about my personality or what I am," Vitale added.

With regards to the event, Merchant said that although students initially hesitated, their reactions were generally positive.

"However, there were a couple of people that were disappointed that it wasn't a little more risqué," Merchant said jokingly.