2008 Woodie Awards
Men's Violence Prevention Group created
$200,000 Justice Department grant funds club aiming to curb domestic violence
Ashley Schaffer
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: News
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The Men's Violence Prevention Group was formed a few weeks ago after visiting speaker Todd Denny led a workshop on raising violence awareness and furthering education.
The workshop, organized by Sexual Assault and Harm Prevention Coordinator Theresa Schinzel and Gonzaga junior Jonathan Herman, inspired 18 male students to join in seeking an end to violence toward women.
According to Schinzel, the stereotype plaguing present-day America is that women are the only ones leading the fight against domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and rape. The purpose of the Men's Violence Prevention Group (MVP Group), however, is to show that men care just as much as women do.
"As much as we would like to deny it, violence toward women happens on the Gonzaga campus, and it is time for the men in the community to take a stance to stop it," said Herman.
According to Herman, the intention of the new MVP Group is to show the community that it is only a small percentage of men who give the rest of the male gender a bad reputation.
MVP Group stemmed from a former Gonzaga group called Gonzaga University Men Against Rape. According to Schinzel, GUMAR was started six years ago but interest and participation slowly dwindled until this year when the group disappeared. MVP Group will be different, however, because it covers all types of violence toward women, instead of solely focusing on rape. Schinzel received a $200,000 grant from the Department of Justice to cover the next two years of the MVP Group's functioning and is confident the money will go to good use.
Members of the MVP Group will start showing their support for the fight against violence toward women by holding a demonstration on the steps of Crosby next week. The details have yet to be confirmed, but Herman said, "It will be a visible sign of what we are and what we stand for."
According to both Herman and Schinzel, this demonstration will be the first step in a series of goals for raising awareness and furthering education. The next event will be a fundraiser called "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes." The group members will don women's high-heeled shoes and have a mile race to raise money for their cause.
Herman also hopes to bring speakers to campus, covering issues such as the image of women as sexual objects in the media and the music industry. Other speakers will address verbal and physical violence toward women and how to help a woman you know who has been a victim of violence.
Other long-term goals that Herman hopes the MVP Group will achieve include issuing rubber bracelets to its members as a visible sign of what they believe in as well as providing a sign to female students who may need assistance walking home. The MVP Group would also like to start up similar groups on surrounding university campuses.
According to Herman, the MVP Group is looking for new members. He stressed that this group will hold strong because "every one of us has been affected by the results of violence toward women. Whether it was directed toward our sisters, mothers, friends or co-workers, each of us has been touched by it directly or indirectly, and it is time for that to stop." n
The workshop, organized by Sexual Assault and Harm Prevention Coordinator Theresa Schinzel and Gonzaga junior Jonathan Herman, inspired 18 male students to join in seeking an end to violence toward women.
According to Schinzel, the stereotype plaguing present-day America is that women are the only ones leading the fight against domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and rape. The purpose of the Men's Violence Prevention Group (MVP Group), however, is to show that men care just as much as women do.
"As much as we would like to deny it, violence toward women happens on the Gonzaga campus, and it is time for the men in the community to take a stance to stop it," said Herman.
According to Herman, the intention of the new MVP Group is to show the community that it is only a small percentage of men who give the rest of the male gender a bad reputation.
MVP Group stemmed from a former Gonzaga group called Gonzaga University Men Against Rape. According to Schinzel, GUMAR was started six years ago but interest and participation slowly dwindled until this year when the group disappeared. MVP Group will be different, however, because it covers all types of violence toward women, instead of solely focusing on rape. Schinzel received a $200,000 grant from the Department of Justice to cover the next two years of the MVP Group's functioning and is confident the money will go to good use.
Members of the MVP Group will start showing their support for the fight against violence toward women by holding a demonstration on the steps of Crosby next week. The details have yet to be confirmed, but Herman said, "It will be a visible sign of what we are and what we stand for."
According to both Herman and Schinzel, this demonstration will be the first step in a series of goals for raising awareness and furthering education. The next event will be a fundraiser called "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes." The group members will don women's high-heeled shoes and have a mile race to raise money for their cause.
Herman also hopes to bring speakers to campus, covering issues such as the image of women as sexual objects in the media and the music industry. Other speakers will address verbal and physical violence toward women and how to help a woman you know who has been a victim of violence.
Other long-term goals that Herman hopes the MVP Group will achieve include issuing rubber bracelets to its members as a visible sign of what they believe in as well as providing a sign to female students who may need assistance walking home. The MVP Group would also like to start up similar groups on surrounding university campuses.
According to Herman, the MVP Group is looking for new members. He stressed that this group will hold strong because "every one of us has been affected by the results of violence toward women. Whether it was directed toward our sisters, mothers, friends or co-workers, each of us has been touched by it directly or indirectly, and it is time for that to stop." n