David Hudgins, senior finance/psychology major, talks to the Interfraternity Council, comprised of representatives from Kent State’s 16 national fraternities. GAVIN JACKSON | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: Steve Schirra

More than 50 fraternity members gathered in the Kiva last night to listen and learn about sexual assault.

Kent State sexual assault awareness group 1 in 4 spoke to the Interfraternity Council and fraternity members. The presentation, titled ‘How to Help a Sexual Assault Survivor: What Men Can Do,’ paralleled what a women goes through during a sexual assault by describing the violent rape of a man.

“We’ve spent one hour going over this material,” said group member David Hudgins, senior finance and psychology major. “In that time, 20 women have been raped. That’s 20 mothers, 20 sisters, 20 aunts or 20 girlfriends – all raped.”

1 in 4, the Kent State chapter of the National Organization of Men’s Outreach for Rape Education, or NO MORE, brought together each Kent State fraternity chapter and its president, the sergeant-at-arms and two associate fraternity members. 1 in 4 consists of three male students and a student adviser.

The event, sponsored by the Interfraternity Council and University Health Services, served as a recruitment tool to get other students involved. The council serves as the governing body for Kent State’s 16 national fraternities.

The group shared a video including a narration of one male police officer’s violent sexual assault experience.

The officer’s encounter took place in a back alley where two men held him at gunpoint and told him to perform various sexual acts including oral and anal sex. Then the alleged rapists ran, leaving the cop left to report his own assault to his friends, other police officers arriving on the scene.

Post-sexual assault examinations also can be traumatic, the video said. From hooking knees into hospital stirrups to plucking out pubic hairs, women and men often endure humiliating treatment afterward from health care professionals bent on documenting the situation.

1 in 4 group member Jeff Jones, senior health care administration major, said he enjoys being able to educate men on campus because April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. He said learning about this program and doing something about it is important.

“Most of the time, women go to men,” Jones said. “This gets them thinking about what they need to do to help a woman.”

Ryan Bolles, sophomore exploratory major and vice president for programming of the Interfraternity Council , said he enjoyed the presentation. He said he knows women who have been through a sexual assault.

“It’s the last thing you expect to hear,” Bolles said. “Follow their advice – remember to talk less and listen more.”

Contact safety reporter Michael Lewis at [email protected].