The administration has been working hard to prevent sexual assault on campus in the aftermath of last semester’s incidents. The new alcohol policies on campus have received mixed responses, and they definitely demonstrate a concerted effort to prevent sexual assault. But they have also overshadowed another very important move by the University.
The men’s health coordinator position, created at the beginning of this academic year, is a very important addition to the health repertoire on campus. The position’s existence — and Brown’s hiring someone to take it — demonstrates an understanding that education can help prevent sexual assault and that men should be involved in the discussion as well. It allows for a shared responsibility by making sure that we are teaching both men and women about different ways to prevent sexual assault rather than focusing on how a victim could protect him or herself.
Marc Peters, the men’s health coordinator, is working alongside fraternities and sports teams to have discussions about what “healthy masculinity” means. His role is to mediate conversations that could lead to a better understanding of how we present ourselves and interact with others.
Often, sexual assault is portrayed as a women’s issue, so we focus on teaching young women how to protect themselves and their female friends. As The Herald reported Feb. 6, “the creation of (Peters’) role shows the University is looking to change this misperception.” Eradicating this misconception that sexual assault is a women’s issue rather than everyone’s issue and creating the space to have productive conversations will help instill a stronger sense of camaraderie in the student population and a heightened recognition of how we can all help.
Peters’ position is aimed at “understanding health, emotions and your own perceptions and interactions with people,” as Grant Senne, president of Brown’s Theta Delta Chi chapter, told The Herald. Peters’ role is to help individuals develop a better sense of themselves rather than to point fingers and chastise all males on campus. These conversations are opening up the floor to talk about sexual assault seriously in a way that is not usually permitted due to the stigma surrounding sexual assault. It is a move toward improving the health of the Brown community as a whole.
While calling it a men’s health coordinator might make it seem that the University is focusing only on how men can help and change their behaviors, Peters insisted to The Herald that “his position is ‘all-encompassing’ for people of all gender identities.” These talks will not only positively benefit men’s health, but they will also have a positive impact on women’s — and people of all genders’ — health. Thus, it is clear that as a community we are trying to move away from the gendered associations of sexual assault and are coming to understand it for what it really is: a violation of someone’s body that can happen to anyone. It puts sexual assault on campus into a different perspective and demonstrates that everyone should be working together to prevent it.
While the new alcohol policies — banning alcohol service at large organized events in residence halls — will hopefully make a positive impact in combating sexual assault on campus, they are more of a short-term solution. Peters’ presence on campus will have a more long-term impact by leading to educational opportunities and facilitating constructive conversations rather than trying to sweep issues under the rug. Starting the conversation is the hard part, but once it becomes a habit, different communities on campus will initiate the conversations themselves.
Peters’ role on campus is not only “emphasizing the role that men can play in preventing violence” but also allowing for new means of communication. Fostering discussion on masculinity and sexual violence is a productive and hopefully long-lasting way to make campus safer for everyone.
Sami Isman ’15 thinks this position deserves more praise than the alcohol policies.
