On Tuesday, Sept. 30, Ted Bunch, the co-founder of “A Call to Men,” spoke to students about ways in which they could contribute to ending violence against women. The SAC Ballrooms were packed with students, mostly men from the fraternities on campus and members of different women’s empowerment organizations, such as No Zebras and the Women’s Leadership Symposium Committee.

Bunch spent the first half of the event breaking down the definition of the “man box,” and the socialization of what a man should be. The “man box” is a socially constructed box of what society defines as being a man. If you land outside of the box, you’re not considered “man enough.” If you’re inside the box, you’re a man…according to society norms. He showed excerpts from films and different scenarios and engaged the audience in discussion about their perception of the “man box.”

“I thought it was interesting to see how the men in the audience reacted to the idea of the “man box” and how it forced them to really think about the masculine and feminine roles in society,” said Andrea O’Neal, a student at the University of Miami.

Girls 4 Good, a service organization that works to promote gender equality through events and discussions, helped co-sponsor the event.

“I thought this event was unique in the sense that it was the first of it’s kind on the UM campus. It addressed sexual assault and violence against women from a different perspective and hopefully got people thinking about these issues in a different light. This was a great start to a much larger conversation,” said Amelia Abe, president of the organization.

Bunch continued the event by discussing the importance of ending violence against women and how the audience could play a role.

words & photos _ guerdiana thelomar