Seeking UB Real Men

UB Real Men, an all-male anti-sexual violence activist group, is looking for men in the UB community to join their organization.

Founded in 1996, the UB Real Men was created to give awards to men who are active in the fight against sexual violence. This is the first year it is operating as an activist group.

According to Patty Yu, coordinator of the UB Real Men, part of the mission of the organization is to dispel the myth that sexual violence is a female issue.

"Males are stereotypically portrayed as being the perpetrators of sexual violence," Yu said. "The fact is, 10 percent of sexual violence is against men."

"One in four college women are sexually assaulted, primarily in off-campus situations," she said. "It's very important for these men to be good role models for younger males."

Men who are interested in joining the group go through an application process and are chosen by the staff of the Anti-Rape Task Force. Applicants are interviewed and chosen based on their seriousness toward the fight against sexual violence and other qualifications, including previous community involvement.

Although in previous years the organization was involved in university-related events, such as Take Back the Night, the Linda Yalem Run and the Men's March Against Violence, this year the group will be encouraged to sponsor its own community awareness events.

"We're trying to have the men be more involved, and not have the organization just as an awards ceremony," Yu said. "We want to build up to the point where we have more members, having older members serve as mentors to the newer members."

According to Yu, the organization currently has 12 members, and they are interested in increasing that amount.

UB Real Men is a group that Temidayo Oyebode, a junior in pre-pharmacy, had never heard about.

"This organization shows that guys care - that they aren't inconsiderate of things that happen," she said. "It's a shame that more men aren't involved."

Rossdllyn Palacio, a junior majoring in exercise science, said having men involved is a great idea, but does not see the use of having them in a separate organization.

"I don't see that the purpose of this group is different from the purpose of the Anti-Rape Task force," Palacio said. "The people in the Anti-Rape Task Force don't get awards for what they do."

Palacio also said that the name of the organization is offensive because it is sexist.

Brian Toolan, a junior majoring in computer science, said that there is very little knowledge of the group on campus.

"It's a great idea, but with 12 men on a campus with 27,000 students, it doesn't bring much awareness," Toolan said. "They need a larger group, of both men and women, to get the message out about sexual violence."

So far, no applications have been received for this year.

"I think the poor response is probably because students don't know about this unique program," stated Yu, in an e-mail. "We might have to change something about the way we advertise it."

"Maybe students think that rape and sexual assault are not major problems, so they think that such a program isn't necessary or maybe not worth their time," she stated.

"But the UB Real Men is about education and prevention - even in the unlikely case that sexual assaults don't occur here on campus, the UB Real Men program is especially important in trying to keep it that way."

"Another reason might be that if students hear about the UB Real Men and don't know what it's about, then they might not take the time to find out about it," Yu stated. "Perhaps student apathy, in general, causes people not to find out more and to take part in the program."

The Oct. 2 application deadline for this year has been extended to Dec. 1 because of the lack of applications the group has received. Applications may be obtained by calling 829-2584.