MARS’ efforts are geared toward framing the issue of sexual assault as affecting more than just the victims, but an issue that affects the greek and campus communities as a whole.
IFC Vice President of Membership Development Sean Ndebele said MARS has grown exponentially this year, with nearly 300 men now part of the group.
This is compared to the initial 50 to 60 fraternity members who were interested in joining the group this past year when the group was started by IU alumnus Grant Ryan.
Similar to the Panhellenic Association’s Safe Sisters program, MARS members will be trained by IU staff from Counseling and Psychological Services and Sexual Assault Crisis Services and will also comprise of representatives from all 33 fraternity chapters on ?campus.
MARS will use discussion-based presentations during its larger meetings twice a semester with the hope that MARS men will bring this information back to their chapters, Ndebele said.
Spreading awareness within the chapters will be the biggest challenge, ?Ndebele said.
“Nobody really wants to talk about an issue like this,” Ndebele said. “But it has to be discussed if we’re going to do something about it. It’s tough to get into, but once you get guys’ heads straight, the conversation goes a little smoother. We’d rather talk about it now than have to talk about it because we have to because something has happened in a chapter.”
MARS’ sexual assault awareness stresses bystander prevention and changing the culture within chapters. SACS Outreach Coordinator Mark Houlemarde addresses this by deconstructing masculinity and the language centered on sexual assault.
Specifically, Houlemarde focuses on suggestive phrases and their undertones, as well as men assuming consent instead of asking their partner for it.
“For me, there is more of an interest in talking to men,” Houlemarde said. “The conversation has really always been about women protecting themselves versus men thinking about how (they) can step in and even stop themselves from having non-consensual sex.”
The idea of having a male-focused sexual assault prevention program is not new to IU, Houlemarde said. In previous years the group was called FRAT, Fraternities Reducing Assault ?Together.
Houlemarde said this group didn’t have a clear idea of what its goals were and, therefore, didn’t gain much traction.
Former Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Michael Goodman suggested that the issue of sexual assault in greek life be readdressed when Ryan founded MARS.
While MARS does receive some support from organizations CAPS, SACS and Student Life and Learning, it is largely student run and could benefit from more institutional backing, Houlemarde said.
“Now we’re reliant on student leaders to help carry MARS forward,” Houlemarde said. “Their ideas are what drives the ?future of MARS.”
Right now, the 300 men that have shown an apparent interest in MARS don’t have a clear definition of membership or ?responsibility.
MARS plans to reach out to and model itself after Safe Sisters.
Safe Sisters is a program that assists sororities in creating a climate where it is safe to speak on sexual ?violence.
Safe Sisters are trained by SACS counselors to suggest support choices for a victim, as well as other aspects of counseling for victims.
Ndebele attended the Safe Sisters training to receive feedback from the ?sorority members.
“As fraternities, we don’t want our women coming to our organizations and being in fear,” Ndebele said. “We want them to feel as safe as possible. My goal is to go there (Safe Sisters) and find out how we can do that.”
Creating a safe environment translates into fraternity members stepping in when a student is too intoxicated or pushy.
It also means avoiding party themes that might require suggestive clothing, Ndebele said.
MARS also focuses on the stigma of sexual assault in the greek community.
Statistically speaking, there are more instances of sexual violence reported within the greek community than outside of it, Houlemarde said.
However, there is no way of knowing if this is a result of more sexual assault cases, better reporting or both, Houlemarde said.
“A lot of people just assume that rape and sexual assault are just rampant throughout (greek life),” Ndebele said. “Really, I think we’re just like the general community. There’s always going to be those one or two rotten apples. When you have so many people, it’s hard to have a perfect community.”
For fraternity members such as Grant Schultz, a junior in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, sexual assault awareness is a larger communal and ?societal issue.
“It is the duty of every student at IU to help prevent it,” Schultz said in an email. “Sexual assault is a tragedy, regardless of where it occurs. Every student at IU must take a stand by making it a personal goal to prevent sexual assault.”
MARS will bring its sexual assault prevention and education to the IU community through events and awareness programs.
MARS will sponsor a table discussion Wednesday near the Woodburn clock tower in order to reach out to students and will be distributing T-shirts and information regarding prevention, Ndebele said.
MARS is a step in the right direction to overcoming the stigmas often associated with the greek ?community, Ndebele said.
"(We want) to help people see that we’re not sitting back in the back burner looking at this issue,” he added. “We’re definitely trying to address it.”
