All-male rape prevention team founded on campus

On Monday, Sept. 18, One in Four, a rape prevention program aiming to educate males about sexual assault, held a presentation in the Forum Theatre. While the presentation lasted only about an hour, the preparation that took place for it the previous weekend was a much lengthier process.

The One in Four RV, full of college-aged men, pulled onto Cardinal Ave. on Friday afternoon. These hand-selected individuals travel around the country to promote One in Four, train members of new chapters such as the one that was recently started at Saint Joseph's, and increase awareness nationwide. The St. Joe's chapter is the first chapter in Philadelphia, and is one of 26 throughout the United States.

The weekend event was not focused on presenting information on rape in the way that One in Four usually does; instead it was to train our students to do this once our chapter gets its feet on the ground. Twenty St. Joe's men attended the weekend, which went from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The meeting on Monday was a trial run to present to other students what the group had practiced all weekend.

Father Jerry McGlone, S.J., co-advisor of the organization, described One in Four as "the best research-based prevention program in the country. Designed by Dr. John Foubert to educate males how they can support survivors of sexual assault, the program teaches men to be a proactive member of society in combating this horrible reality. It is a male-to-male peer education program. It attempts to allow males to see themselves not as 'rapists' but as 'helpers'."

The 20 participants who eagerly arrived to be trained impressed Dr. Foubert, founder of One in Four. He said the Saint Joseph's chapter had "the largest number of participants for a founding chapter since the founding of the program in 1996."

Fr. McGlone said "St. Joe's is so different from other campuses in that we are supportive and informed, and we have a culture of awareness and prevention."

Josh Reda, '07, described the presentation on Monday as "very informative. I think often times men have certain perceptions about how women feel after a rape and going to the session really clarified these assumptions."

One in Four will meet on Sunday nights to learn in more depth how to present the program in the most effective way possible. They will assist the Rape Education Prevention Program (REPP) in running such events as Take Back the Night. Eventually, One in Four hopes to present to fraternities and freshmen, as well as high schools and colleges throughout Philadelphia.