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IFC holds seminar on violence

An unexpectedly small audience of about 40 fraternity members gathered yesterday at noon for the first Inter-Fraternity Council Seminar on Violence Against Women.

"There were those who got something out of it and those who didn't. It seems like a lot were forced to be here," said LSA first-year student Ben Wolf.

Speakers said they were disappointed by the sparse audience. Most of the audience were pledges or new members of campus fraternities. The seminar was held in Auditorium 4 of the Modern Languages Building.

"The numbers were few but we did have around two-thirds of all fraternities represented," said IFC Vice President of External Relations Dan Levin.

The seminar opened with a statement by Joyce Wright, training and education coordinator for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, in which she tried to get responses from the audience about statistics on sexual assault.

Wright said in her speech that 65 campus rapes were reported to SAPAC last year, adding that 15 of those allegedly occurred in fraternities.

The seminar also included a film depicting a date rape situation and a speech by a Wayne State University student who was raped by a WSU fraternity member.

David Garwin of the Alternatives to Domestic Aggression Program said he was disappointed in the turnout, and that he expected to be speaking before hundreds of students.

"There should have been more of you today," Garwin said. "But it's `no big deal.' If violence against women was a big deal (to men) it wouldn't happen."

A discussion following the presentations drew a lot of audience participation and revealed much about the attitudes of some fraternity members toward date rape.

"The questions were indicative of the reasons for the seminar," Levin said.

Fraternity members questioned Wright, Garwin and the survivor about many elements that they often called "gray areas," including the use of alcohol by both parties, and ambivalence about how consent is construed. Many audience members said they felt the panel was biased against men.

"The questions weren't uncommon. When people learn about violence against women they often try to find reasons or rationalizations for why this happens," Wright said.

The seminar ended with suggestions on how to make changes.

"You're being recruited today. We've got work to do in terms of how we view women in this society," said moderator Greg Harden, special adviser to athletics.

Fraternity members said they also saw value in having the seminar.

"I think it's important, especially in the Greek system, to be aware and to take a stand against something that's obviously a problem on campuses everywhere," said Josh Brayer, an LSA junior.