: will experience some form of sexual

: assault while earning their degrees.

: These assaults are almost uniformly

: perpetrated by men.

: And they’re getting worse: between

: 2001 and 2011, instances of sexual assault

: on American campuses shot up by 52 ee oe, rig Ie

: per cent. : fi “.: a) tN
: However, despite these challenges, i ee a cer we os oY bs :

: women continue to excel in the ee as Ra TON Nl RIN NP ie hel

: university setting. Between 1971 and i reel Mite — Ee

: 2007, women went from making up “ee ie
: 32 per cent to 59 per cent of college
: graduates in this country. Women in
: Canada are also much less likely to
: drop out of college or high school, and a Pa Se ee
: tend to be much more involved with ie

: extracurricular activities such as student

: government, clubs, or university media

: organizations.

: Even sororities aren't associated

: with the same low grades and violent

: statistics as their male counterparts—in

: fact, in second- and third-year students,

: sororities have been associated with

: positive trends in GPA and performance.

: The increasing prominence

: of women on campus has inspired

: more institutions to adopt inclusive

: programs: women’s centres have

: become commonplace, as have LGBTQ

: organizations and gender studies

: departments. The cultural conversation

: around campus sexual assault has

: been slow yet steady to build, and an

: increasing outcry for better policies for

: victims has resulted in serious change at

: many institutions.

There’s no reason men can't

: participate equally in this atmosphere of

: increased tolerance and understanding.

: Many do—plenty of men see themselves

: asallies, and support a positive learning

: space for all genders and backgrounds.

: Some of them are even involved in

: frats or sports teams, changing the

: conversation from the inside out.

We need to change the way we

treat men when they’re young. We

: need to tell boys about consent, and

: teach them to think of women not

: as adversaries or sexual goals but as

: people, equals, and collaborators. We

: need to promote respect and tolerance

: and emotional expression for everyone, re an a reid ipellde™ pe Thde= gle” po Ssldda phe Soklcg: py ee pp MMe PE fe SSE SME BE hide

ee ae, ee Pe

without arbitrary distinctions based on Cae SS -_ - ee
: chromosomes or genitals. We need to J > gS ee ee: .
: expose our conception of masculinity for carts.” f
: what it really is—a fiction.

: In that fiction, there are ideas to

: reconcile. Strength, self-assurance,

: and confidence are all virtues, and the

: leadership skills we teach boys have

: helped to make some of the most

; remarkable human beings who've ever

: lived.

: But these traits needn't be

: associated with any particular gender—

: or person, for that matter. Once we

: begin teaching boys that there are no

: limits to who they can be and what they

: can achieve, we'll start to see the change

: our society sorely needs. To think

; men can’t change and evolve is short-

: sighted—we just need to give them the

: chance.