Catching a drag show and listening to music and poetry are some of the things students can do this Saturday night at the ninth annual Gay Jam.

The PRISM sponsored event is part of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Awareness Month and will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Diversions Lounge at the Holmes Student Center.

Starting LGBT Awareness Month with Gay Jam is a good way to get everyone involved, said PRISM Co-President Andrea Drott.

“It brings awareness, and it’s a social outlet for LGBT people to have a good time,” Drott said.

The event is not exclusive to LGBT students. Last year’s jam was attended by 250 people.

Graduate accountancy student Andy Park said, “I know it’s going to be a mixed crowd because everyone brings their friends.”

PRISM is hoping to reach out to more people in the community. The ally program is for heterosexual individuals who approve of LGBT people, Drott said.

“More and more allies are coming to our events – it’s not only LGBT, straight people are having fun too,” she said.

Graduate student-at-large Bella Macas believes it is a very important event and a fun way to kick start the month.

“Last year there was a drag queen flying across the stage, which is what got me to participate this year,” Macas said.

Macas is sharing a poem she wrote at the event, because she wants to participate and thinks its a good poem

The planned calendar of events for both PRISM and the LGBT Resource Center focuses on bringing awareness to LGBT issues.

“It’s a matter of visibility – if the problems are invisible then nothing is going to get solved,” Park said.

The cost is $5 per person and the proceeds will be benefiting the Ben Gordon Center, which provides mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment services to the DeKalb County area.