Dressing in drag may not seem to have much in common with sexual-assault awareness, but Friday night at the Memorial Union the student group Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment will make the connection between drag queens and issues of campus safety.

The event, taking the view that “sexual assault is a drag,” will feature a drag show as well as several acts depicting campus situations like date rapes, with Mr. Gay Wisconsin himself as an emcee.

“We just thought — wouldn’t it be fun to have a drag show?” said PAVE member Megan Riley. “That never seems to happen on campus.”

Riley added that the event would underline a largely unknown fact: sexual assault affects members of non-heterosexual relationships as well as the more frequently acknowledged male and female incidences.

“There’s a lot of hush-hush in the gay and lesbian community already; rape is rarely discussed,” Riley said.

PAVE vice-chair Jennifer Cinelli agreed that sexual assault in the LGBT community remains a largely unknown and unreported phenomenon.

“This crosses gender lines, and a lot of people aren’t comfortable with that,” Cinelli said.

She added that she hopes the event will reach out to the LGBT community and form a connection between all the campus populations affected by sexual assault.

“We’re rooting for a large, diverse population to turn out,” Cinelli said.

Riley agreed that PAVE hopes to attract people that it may not normally serve.

“PAVE isn’t just reaching out to the heterosexual population but also to that 10 percent of the population that’s often too silent,” she said.

University of Wisconsin senior and winner of the Mr. Gay Wisconsin pageant, who goes by the stage name Kevin Kline, said he holds similar expectations for the event.

“The campus needs more programs that unite and gather people,” Kline said. “It isn’t only about having a good time but being aware of one another as people.”

Kline asserted that such events could help bridge the gap between people holding different points of view.

“We’re all the same on the inside — that’s what it comes down to,” he said. “We focus too much on things like sexual orientation.”

Kline will perform in the acts as well as holding court as the event’s emcee; he said his position as Mr. Gay Wisconsin has provided many such opportunities for involvement in important causes.

“I really equate it with the Miss America experience,” Kline said, adding that his pageant included an interview, a talent show and even a swimwear segment.

When approached to help out at the drag show, Kline said he gladly accepted.

“When I found out what it was for, I said ‘sure’ right away,” Kline recalled. “I’m always up for a good cause.”

Riley echoed his sentiments.

“I can’t say enough about PAVE,” she said. “We want to do so much for the students.”

Aside from providing safe and fun entertainment, information about sexual assault and student outreach, Riley said the event would serve as a fundraiser for the organization.

According to Riley, PAVE members want to make more informational videos, distribute information packets and advertise its services to students, but these pursuits are limited by the budget the group received from the Associated Students of Madison.

Although the recent sexual assaults in Ogg Residence Hall sparked concern among students, Cinelli said the problem is an omnipresent force on campus, showing that PAVE’s services are always applicable.

“The Ogg rapes where only the first ones reported to the Madison Police,” Cinelli said. “But really, this sort of thing happens all the time.”