2008 Woodie Awards
Three events focus on sexual assault
By Alyssa McCormick
Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: Focus
"You don't have to be a man of steel to be a real man," said Christopher Reeve, who played the role of Superman in a handful of movies, in an interview after his horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
A segment of this interview was shown in a video clip titled "Tough Guise," which was featured in one of the three events dealing with sexual assault that took place this week.
The events were sponsored by the Bridge Project. Per the SRU calendar of events, the week was referred to as "SAW," or Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
Other events that took place during the week included "Got sex? What's the Best Way to Get Some?" which was held on Tuesday afternoon in the University Union and "Parties! Alcohol! Drugs! Sex? The Trouble with Sex and Intoxication," held on Wednesday afternoon in the Strain Behavioral Science Building.
Bridge Project coordinator Karla Fonner said she hopes that her work is paying off for students.
"The Bridge Project has been providing educational awareness weeks in October for dating violence and April for sexual assault for approximately five years now," Fonner said.
The first event, "Tough Guise, Is there a Masculinity Crisis at SRU?" was held on Monday afternoon in the Strain Behavioral Science Building.
The speaker at the event, Courtney Riffer, worked for Head Start and began seeing violence as a broader problem that dealt with masculinity.
At the beginning of the lecture, Riffer drew a box on the board and asked students for words that they thought defined masculinity, and then she wrote them inside the box.
Students described masculinity as having muscles, being tall and tough, being a good athlete and showing no emotions other than anger or aggression.
Riffer then asked the students what they thought would happen when men were forced out of this "box." Their responses included being beaten up and labeled by their peers.
By doing this activity, Riffer aimed to make the point that there are certain ways men should act, and if they don't act this way, they are then considered less masculine. Students in attendance agreed with Riffer that these stereotypes of "real men" were greatly influenced by the media.
A segment of this interview was shown in a video clip titled "Tough Guise," which was featured in one of the three events dealing with sexual assault that took place this week.
The events were sponsored by the Bridge Project. Per the SRU calendar of events, the week was referred to as "SAW," or Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
Other events that took place during the week included "Got sex? What's the Best Way to Get Some?" which was held on Tuesday afternoon in the University Union and "Parties! Alcohol! Drugs! Sex? The Trouble with Sex and Intoxication," held on Wednesday afternoon in the Strain Behavioral Science Building.
Bridge Project coordinator Karla Fonner said she hopes that her work is paying off for students.
"The Bridge Project has been providing educational awareness weeks in October for dating violence and April for sexual assault for approximately five years now," Fonner said.
The first event, "Tough Guise, Is there a Masculinity Crisis at SRU?" was held on Monday afternoon in the Strain Behavioral Science Building.
The speaker at the event, Courtney Riffer, worked for Head Start and began seeing violence as a broader problem that dealt with masculinity.
At the beginning of the lecture, Riffer drew a box on the board and asked students for words that they thought defined masculinity, and then she wrote them inside the box.
Students described masculinity as having muscles, being tall and tough, being a good athlete and showing no emotions other than anger or aggression.
Riffer then asked the students what they thought would happen when men were forced out of this "box." Their responses included being beaten up and labeled by their peers.
By doing this activity, Riffer aimed to make the point that there are certain ways men should act, and if they don't act this way, they are then considered less masculine. Students in attendance agreed with Riffer that these stereotypes of "real men" were greatly influenced by the media.
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