Ten panelists answered questions from trivial to personal as a student audience grilled them in an attempt to guess their sexual orientation.

Josh O’Connor, residence hall director, was the host of the game show-format program presented by the Queer Straight Alliance Wednesday night where students asked questions about panelists’ lifestyles and then voted on their perceived sexual orientation. As it began, he warned the audience that the deduction process was not always easy.

“It’s not going to be as obvious as I am,” said O’Connor, who was hosting the event for the fourth consecutive year. “Clearly I am very gay.”

O’Connor called on students, allowing them to ask anything that panelists were comfortable answering. The audience was not shy — questions ranged from simple ones like favorite colors and whether they had watched “Brokeback Mountain” or “Sex and the City,” to more personal, like preferred sexual positions and body shaving preferences.

The point of the exercise was to show that students cannot reliably guess a stranger’s sexual orientation and should not rely on stereotypes, said Patricia Grady, director of the Women’s Resource Center. When people try to guess, they can make incorrect assumptions.

“The audience is usually very, very wrong,” Grady said.

When it came time to take the final poll, most of the audience raised a hand to show they thought they knew at least two panelists’ sexualities. O’Connor announced each panelist’s name and took a show of hands. Then each panelist announced his or her sexual orientation. In the end, the audience guessed wrong half the time.

“You cannot judge a book by its cover,” O’Connor said.

He explained that assuming someone has a certain sexual orientation can create awkwardness for everyone involved. It also can confuse people who may be unsure of their sexual orientation, forcing them to separate what they believe their orientation is compared to what other people think it is.

Rachel Hogue, freshman education major, said she was a panelist because she wanted to show audience members that she could look feminine without being straight.

“I was very surprised I didn’t get bisexual,” she said.

Only two students in the audience said they guessed all ten panelists’ sexualities correctly.

Sonia Perez, freshman psychology major and audience member, said she thought the event had a positive message.

“I think it’s a great idea to just be a part of anything that’s possible to break down any type of stereotype, anything that will help people see that there really is no difference between a people — but so many think that there is.”

Sam Pearson can be reached at [email protected].