The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center hosted a special presentation of the Sundance Channel’s new documentary series “TransGeneration” Thursday night in Cole Hall.

About 35 students, DeKalb residents and non-DeKalb residents attended the presentation.

The documentary series follows two male and two female transgendered college students of varying ethnicity as they deal with day-to-day stresses of classes, roommates and families. The students, however, also have to deal with the emotional challenges of a sexual transition.

The eight-part documentary will air every Tuesday, starting Tuesday at 9 p.m., on the Sundance Channel.

Nebraska residents Janet Heeter and Bobbi Himes came to DeKalb to see the show and said if they liked the presentation, they would get the Sundance Channel.

David Brooking, who identified himself as open about his sexuality, also was visiting DeKalb from Nebraska.

“I thought the presentation was excellent. Anyone can relate to these students’ journeys, because college is a time of change anyway,” Brooking said.

NIU’s LGBT Resource Center was contacted in August by the Sundance Channel to show the film, said Margie Cook, LGBT Resource Center director.

NIU’s large number of students and its active LGBT community were attractive to the Sundance Channel, who also offered the screening to 100 other colleges, including Harvard and Northwestern, Cook said. This is the first time the Sundance Channel offered NIU an advanced screening of one of their programs, she said.

“I’m very excited [about the preview screening of ‘TransGeneration’,” Cook said. “It’s interesting that they’re trying out this series and it’s great that they’re offering a sneak-peek to colleges. It also is especially exciting because a lot of people don’t understand transgender identity and hopefully this will be a way for people to learn about this kind of experience.”

Cook said sometimes there is confusion about what transgendered means.

“For someone who is transsexual, their self-understanding of being male or female is different than their physical anatomy. This is different than homosexuality, which is about the sex of the person to whom a person is attracted.”

Freshman history major Eric Schmack, who identified himself as heterosexual, said there is a cloud of mystery regarding what transgender identity means among students.

“I believe that people are not enlightened on these kinds of issues, and there’s a general bias toward individuals like these mainly due to a lack of understanding,” he said.

Prism co-president Philip Engleking was disappointed with the turnout, but said he understood it was a late Thursday night and it was raining.

Engleking said he enjoyed the film.

“It was one of those films where you go from smiling and laughing with the characters to being on the edge of tears,” he said.

NIU thesis adviser Diane Johns said she was pleased NIU decided to show the presentation.

“I thought it was excellent. I learned about some of the emotional issues these individuals have to deal with,” she said.

“TransGeneration” was directed by Jeremy Simmons and produced by Fenton Bailey (“Inside Deep Throat”) and Randy Barbato (“Party Monster”).

Extra screenings of “TransGeneration” will take place today and Tuesday at noon in the LGBT Resource Center, on the 7th floor of the Holmes Student Center.