Thursday, March 5, 2009
A new series of posters featuring men who define masculinity will join the Women of Distinction calendars this coming April. The project, called Men of Merit, is meant to recognize male students, faculty and staff who are role models for other males in the University.
Rick Lofgren, Chicago second-year graduate student and member of the Men of Merit project, said the posters would help show masculinity in an appropriate light.
“It is important to recognize these men to show KU’s current and future male population that the current definition of what it means to be male may not necessarily be the norm,” Lofgren said.
The idea for Men of Merit came to Gary Green, San Antonio senior, when he was looking at the Women of Distinction calendar. He thought there should be something similar for men at the University.
The Athletics Department and Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center combined efforts to develop Green’s idea into a series of posters featuring men at the University. Green is part of the Men of Merit nomination committee, which looks for men who challenge norms, take action, and have a positive effect on the University or the community.
“I believe there are many men here at KU who are very deserving of this honor,” Lofgren said.
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“Masculinity is so much larger than the macho image presented by society. Masculinity is about integrity, accomplishment and compassion.”
Ryan Campbell, Olathe senior
A study done by the Population Reference Bureau indicates there have been lower rates of enrollment at colleges and universities among males since 1991. Males also tend to hold far fewer leadership roles than women at the college level. Lofgren said he was passionate about the Men of Merit project because he had been studying male development and was well-versed in issues regarding the college male. He said the Men of Merit program was a great start to creating programs that sought to engage male students at the University.
Lofgren said students could feel pride and a connection with the Men of Merit program because they had the opportunity to nominate a man they felt was qualified or could be nominated themselves.
Nominations for the Men of Merit program are due March 13. Ryan Campbell, Olathe senior and member of the nomination committee said selections would be made by late March and the release date for the posters was April 15. The project is the work of the Women and Men’s Poster Series, a new student group also working on the Women of Distinction calendar.
Campbell said the posters were meant to show a whole spectrum of male existence on campus. The nomination committee has a loose rubric to guide its selections so all nominees are viewed through the same lens, Campbell said. He said men were redefining masculinity in so many different ways that the committee found it difficult to adhere to a strict set of guidelines.
“Masculinity is so much larger than the macho image presented by society,” Campbell said. “Masculinity is about integrity, accomplishment and compassion.”
Milton Wendland, Lawrence doctoral student, said when he received an e-mail asking him to be part of the effort to put the program together, he jumped at the chance. Wendland said he thought he was included because of his affiliation with the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and because his teaching and research interests centered on gender and sexuality.
“I want my father and friends and my sons to know that being a man is about being fully human, striving to be the best person they can be,” Wendland said. “And it’s important for women to see that too.”
Wendland said there was a cultural trend to blame men for most of the atrocities and violence in society, and there were a lot of restrictions placed on men.
“Restricting yourself to one idea of what a man is limits yourself, limits your relationships,” Wendland said. “Men of Merit is a way for KU students to be thinking about how they will live their lives now and in the future.”
— — Edited by Carly Halvorson
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