A full auditorium of students turned out last night for a program and discussion presented by West Chester University's Fraternity Anti-Violence Project (FAVP) aiming to provide men with knowledge about the issues and causes of violence against women.
An audience of predominantly men, many wearing fraternity letters, spilled into the aisles of 105 Dartmouth Hall as three West Chester fraternity brothers took turns explaining their backgrounds and the role that men and the Greek system can play in combating violence and abuse against women.
The program opened on a personal note as Ric Winston, Lou Torres and Paul Stiefel shared experiences from their own past.
Torres recalled the pain of crying himself to sleep as a child as his parents fought in the next room, while Winston explained his trouble dealing with the information that his girlfriend had been abused.
The speakers then went on to emphasize that violence against women affects all men, even those that are not abusers themselves, and that action and the proper use of power is a responsibility that all men must understand.
"Most men do not rape, but some men do, and because of that, it makes it a problem for all men," Winston explained.
Careful not to alienate and attack the male fraternity audience with this message, Winston made it clear that these ideas are compatible with the Greek system.
"I am a proud, card-carrying member of a fraternity," Winston repeated throughout the night. He then continued, "It's okay to be who you are and you can still say something that's important."
Winston also admitted that sexual abuse and harassment can occur within fraternities, but when it does, there is a need to be pro-active and deal with it within the house before the administration mandates action.
To emphasize this point, the group acted out a skit called "The Morning After," in which derogatory language objectified women and sexual peer pressure was present.
"Did you see yourself? And what do you do if that [were] you?" Torres asked the audience to contemplate after the skit.
