Cornell University has a new student group for asexuals. Eleven people showed up for the group’s first meeting.

Emma Ianni of the Cornell Daily Sun has the story.

New Group to Bring Awareness of Cornell Asexual Community

Human sexuality is a “spectrum” with asexuals and sexuals on opposing ends, according to ACE, the new asexual support group at Cornell.

ACE was founded last semester as a suborganization of Haven: The LGBTQ Student Union, according to Jadey Huray ’14, president of Haven.

The cofounders of ACE said they hope to spread awareness of asexuality and create a safe, confidential community for everyone in the range of students who experience sexual attraction to varying degrees, the co-founders of the group said.

Xiana G.F. ’15, who created the idea for the group and formed it with Erin Casey ’15 and Matthew Weatherly ’15, said the term “ace” stands for whoever is asexual or finds himself or herself in the “space between sexuality and asexuality.”

“The ace umbrella encompasses everyone who is asexual or falls in one way or another within the ‘gray’ area between sexuality and asexuality,” according to the ACE Facebook page.

G.F. said she came up with the idea of creating an asexual group last semester, when she was struggling with the way being an ace was affecting her personal life.

“I found myself isolated and yearning for a network of support — for people who really understood me — so I decided to create what I was wishing already existed,” she said.

Casey said students would find it helpful to connect with people going through similar experiences.

“We felt Cornell would benefit from a group like this because it brings together a community of like-minded people,” Casey said. “At least in my own personal experience, finding someone to talk to and figure things out with can be more helpful than just about anything else.”