Contact Information
Service Learning Proposal for Men Against Rape @ UCF
By: Joshua S.
September 16, 2010
Meredith Tweed
WST 3015-0001
Community Partner Profile:
Community Partner: Men Against Rape @ UCF
Contact: Schuyler Kerby, slkerby@gmail.com
Community Partner Mission Statement: “We are a group that seeks to end sexual violence. We as men recognize that men are the main perpetrators of sexual violence, especially rape, and that we have a social responsibility in working towards ending it” (Men Against Rape @ UCF 2010).
Political and/or Social Basis for Organization: Men Against Rape @ UCF, or just Men Against Rape, was created to address the issues surrounding men’s interactions with patriarchal systems, sexism, sexual violence, and rape. Men Against Rape focuses on rape and sexual violence as its focus as a vast majority of the perpetrators of rape and sexual violence are men.
Community Partner Needs: Since Men Against Rape is only just over a year old, the organization needs help attracting new members, planning and hosting events, and raising funds.
The Proposal
Memorandum
TO: Meredith L. Tweed
FROM: Joshua S.
DATE: September 17, 2010
RE: Proposal to Write a Feasibility Report for a Service Learning Project
Below is a proposal that outlines the needs of the Men Against Rape @ UCF organization, my plan to address those needs, how that plan relates back to Women’s and/or Gender Studies, action steps needed to enact my plan, and a timeline that sets out a rough schedule for the completion of those action steps. This proposal as it now stands may need to be revised to better meet the changing needs of Men Against Rape @ UCF and the Service Learning project.
Statement of Need or Problem
The Men Against Rape organization is only a little over a year old and has many of the same problems that any fledgling social justice organization has. Men Against Rape lacks the recognition, history and funding of other groups such as NOW or VOX, making recruiting new members difficult. As well, since the organization lacks RSO status with the UCF SGA, it becomes difficult for Men Against Rape to host meeting and events on campus. Due to the organization’s base of membership being the student population of UCF, membership is often transitory and maintaining enthusiasm and steady membership become difficult.
Plan to Address Need or Problem
To address the three major issues of Men Against Rape outlined above, I plan to work with the organization on a three part plan. First, I plan to help Men Against Rape organize and hold fundraising and consciousness raising events, such as movie nights, off campus or in on campus locations where RSO status is not a requirement for use. Second, I plan to facilitate Men Against Rape working with other on-campus organizations, such as EQUAL and Victim Services, to host official on campus events. Finally, I plan to table with Men Against Rape during the week and during official on campus events to bring in new members.
Rationale for Women’s and/or Gender Studies
Violence against women, sexual violence and rape are all issues feminism and the Women’s Studies movement seek to address and end. Men Against Rape seeks to do vital work in stopping this violence before it starts by addressing men, who are overwhelmingly the perpetrators of sexual violence and rape (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 2010). In doing so, Men Against Rape follows in the footsteps of many other national organizations, such as Men Against Pornography and Men Acting for Change (Stoltenberg 1998).
Actions for the Project
Beginning over the summer, I have already worked with Men Against Rape to develop new fliers, informational brochures, and signs. In the future, I will be working with Men Against Rape to attract new members by tabling and raise funding for the organization by organizing and hosting at least one movie night. As well, I will be working with members of the organization throughout the semester to print and publish brochures and pamphlets to inform students on the UCF campus about issues of sexual violence and rape, as well as about Men Against Rape.
Tentative Timeline
-Monday, Sep 20 - Tabling for Men Against Rape at Light Up The Night
-Early Oct - Participate in upcoming Masculinities Panel to be hosted at UCF
-Late Oct - Host a movie night fundraiser to raise awareness about issues of sexual violence and rape on campus, as well as raising funding for Men Against Rape
References
Kirk, Gwen and Margo Okazawa-Rey, eds. 2010. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Men Against Rape @ UCF. 2010. “Info.” Orlando, FL: Men Against Rape @ UCF Facebook Group. Retrieved September 17, 2010 (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44400589867&ref=ts#!/group.php?gid=44400589867&v=info&ref=ts).
Stoltenberg, John. 1998. “’I Am Not a Rapist!’: Why College Guys Are Confronting Sexual Violence.” Pp. 285-90 in Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives, edited by G. Kirk and M. Okazawa-Rey. New York: McGraw Hill.
Word Count: 785
Josh,
ReplyDeleteYour SL project meets the course objectives and the rationale for WST is clear. You have done solid work here though two major areas of improvement stand out: 1. In the first section you needed to contextualize your quotes and introduce them instead of just cutting and pasting. 2. try think of fundraising and member drives beyond "the usual suspects" and add creative ways to establish Men Against Rape on Campus.