Below are a variety of articles written in campus newspapers about a campus visit.

Hamline University, April 20, 2006
Syracuse University, February 23, 2005
Syracuse University - February 25, 2005
SUNY Brockport - March 5, 2004 Editorial
SUNY Brockport - March 5, 2004

In Ending Rape, Men Must Take Active Roles
May 2, 2006
Tyler Stone
Hamline University

“We live in a rape culture... Hamline has a rape culture. It is so pervasive that we don’t see it.” These words were spoken by Keith Edwards during his recent presentation, “She Fears You,” on April 20 at Hamline that focused on the role of men in society in preventing rape. Now, I am a man, and I have to say that I have never been an attacker, never had the urge to do so, and never intend to commit such an act. It is wrong. I know that. We all know that, don’t we? At least I hope we all know that. The statistics indicate otherwise. Rape happens far more than anyone should feel comfortable with. One in four college women report surviving rape or attempted rape. Think about how many college women you know, and think about taking one quarter of them. It is a lot of women. The chances that one of them has been a victim is very high, and if you are like me, you are completely oblivious to the hardship they have likely suffered. Not because you are ignorant, not because you are a bad person, but maybe just because the subject is too painful, too much of a social taboo to be discussed openly. Most men will say the same; that they would never dream of raping anyone. But the numbers say otherwise. 84 percent of men who have admitted to actions consistent with the legal definition of rape do not believe their actions were illegal. In other words, 84 percent of rapists do not even know they are rapists.

“This is the incredibly terrifying and sad reality of our society; we are raising men that rape and don’t even know it,” said Emily Erickson, of the Women’s Resource Center, who helped organize the event. This is part of rape culture that Edwards wants to see changed. He is a Hamline alum currently working toward a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. His work is part of a growing movement to redefine attitudes toward sexual violence by convincing males to take a leading role in destroying the foundations that promote sexual violence toward women. By combining a powerful message with engaging and entertaining delivery, Edwards tries to do his part in promoting this message. Unfortunately, the misconceptions and cultural standards relating to violence and sex roles are so widespread and deeply rooted that Edwards alone cannot turn society around. “Even most men here are not speaking out,” he said. “Women are planning their days based on the fear of rape.” The signs of this are everywhere. Women often plan their dress based on perceived reactions of those they will see that day. They may not wear a skirt one day because of fear of being hassled as they walk to work or class. They may choose to cross a street to avoid walking past a man coming in the other direction, or fake a cell phone call for comfort. They are taught to clutch their keys as they walk past someone to use as defense or to carry pepper spray.

Sexual violence is portrayed by society as an inevitability that women must be prepared to deal with. Women are taught to prevent rape or how to deal with it once it happens. There is far less effort put into changing men’s attitudes to eliminate rape before it can happen. Societal stereotypes make matters worse. Women take actions to prevent strangers from getting too close. They fear a sort of serial rapist, a boogeyman character that usually fits into a racist assumption of the average criminal. “They need to be more afraid of me when I offer to walk them home from the library,” Edwards says of women on his campus. 84 percent of victims knew their attackers. Rapists generally are not random strangers, but acquaintances. They are friends at parties, classmates walking across campus, or boyfriends that do not understand limits. “All men are capable of being unknown, unintentional perpetrators,” Edwards said. But is this just fearmongering? Are we setting women up to be perpetually afraid of their surroundings? According to Edwards, fear is necessary as long as the problem persists. We need to make fear unnecessary. We are taught by society that fear is bad, that it is a sign of weakness. Fear keeps people alive, and helps keep them safe and alert. If you fear rape, you are keeping it on your mind. You can use fear to keep yourself safe. Hiding fear not only shows a fear of others’ impressions of you, but also sets you up to become a victim of what you are hiding from.

Eliminating fear is not the goal of education. Eliminating the problem makes fear unnecessary. Fear, says Edwards, makes not only women victims, but men as well. All of my daily interactions with women who live under this constant fear are dictated by their perception of me. Our connections are limited by the fear of my possible actions, not because of things they have noticed in my speech or behavior, but due to the actions of other men that have altered the way that women interact on a daily basis. My relationships with my closest friends are limited by the culture of fear that is necessary to protect them. I don’t want to be feared, but it may be necessary to protect my friends, my family, and all of the other potential victims out there. I cannot make women understand that I personally am not a threat to them, because the potential rapist does not see himself as a threat either. How can they know if I am different than other men? Awareness is the best first step in changing these perceptions. Erickson realized this in researching sexual assaults with the WRC. “In past years we’ve moved from just reacting to sexual assault to the prevention of sexual assault,” she said. “But we’ve only looked at prevention from a women’s perspective. We wanted to again focus on the prevention of sexual assault, but with a focus on men’s role in preventing sexual violence.”

After doing some research, Erickson came across the program designed by Edwards and consulted with Dean of Students Alan Sickbert, who had already talked with Edwards. The two felt that the presentation would be a good fit for Hamline in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. “Athletes and fraternity and sorority members are often required to go to my presentations,” said Edwards. In fact, many of his presentations are put on solely for schools’ athletic programs, which are often singled out for education in rape awareness. Hamline athletes were strongly encouraged to attend the presentation. The event pushed room 118 in Drew Science near capacity with over 100 people. Even with large turnout from male athletes, the presentation was still split evenly between men and women. With the goal of “She Fears Me” being to increase men’s awareness of their role in combating sexual violence, a higher turnout from the rest of Hamline’s male population might have been more beneficial to the movement as a whole. “Perception is reality,” Edwards said of the views many have toward athletes and fraternities. He discussed possible reasons for this, most of which related to general expectations of men in society to live up to standards of domination and to suppress their emotions. “We are very literally killing ourselves with this version of inflated masculinity.” He points to aspects of society that lead to the existence of a rape culture including the objectification of women, subordination of their intelligence, the definition of masculinity as sexual conquest, and intersecting forms of oppression such as racism and homophobia. The drive to exert masculinity based on these definitions leads men to regard women as targets of sexual aggression, as things to be acted upon and not rational beings. These are not baseless claims. Edwards presented numerous examples of how these images are projected on youth, from advertising to music to the wording chosen to represent events involving victims of sexual violence. Not all is hopeless, though. Men and women across the country are starting to raise awareness, with groups popping up to fight the stereotyping, marginalizing, and unrealistic expectations placed on our youth. At Hamline Men Against Sexual Assault and Gender Oppression (MASAGO) has formed a group dedicated to ending violence by changing men’s attitudes, though membership has been slow in coming.
Recent hate incidents and reactions to sexual assaults on campus show that Hamline has work to do. While some have shown initiative through groups like MASAGO, the general trend is to not take action.

As long as rape still occurs, as long as the women around us still live in a constant fear of violence, men should not let this issue go away. We need to look at how we handle things as a society and change the way we raise our young men and women. I don’t want to be seen as a potential attacker, and I don’t want women to have to feel like potential victims. A solution cannot be found without men stepping forward and changing attitudes to eliminate the culture that allows sexual violence to happen. “The end of rape may be unrealistic,” said Edwards, “but how much am I willing to settle with?”

Student Upholds Sex Abuse Education
by Brittany Hennings
Daily Orange
Syracuse University
February 25, 2005

Sex may be connected with many things at Syracuse University, but until Thursday night, apples had not been one of them. This association was made by Keith Edwards, a graduate student from the University of Maryland College Park who spoke last night to students in HBC's Gifford Auditorium.

Edwards used apples to demonstrate situations that may occur at parties, in which various students attempted to get "the apple" from other audience members. Edwards sent those with birthdays January through June to go out of the auditorium. He informed those remaining that the others would be reentering with apples. The challenge was to employ any means necessary to gain possession of an apple. Students with apples entered the auditorium with variable behavior. Some attempted to conceal their apples, and some used their apple as a tease. Those who were trying to get apples responded with strategies such as seize by force - one student even admitted to using sexual innuendos. Edwards used this five-minute role play to portray what happens on college campuses and why sexual assault tends to become an issue.

Jess Larsen, a senior public relations and sociology major and executive coordinator of Students Advancing Sexual Safety and Empowerment, said they helped provide funding so Edwards could come to SU. SASSE has two core values, increasing sexual safety and empowerment through knowledge, Larsen said, and given the experiences of college women, bringing Edwards was essential.

Although any type of discussion on the subject is positive, Larsen admits that having a few more men in attendance would have been more effective.

"It's not only a women's issue," said Melissa Kleinman, a graduate student with a master's degree in social work and coordinator of SASSE.

The presentation was conveyed from the feminine perspective that men are the perpetrators and that women are the victims or survivors. The motivation of the discussion was to raise awareness that men can end sexual violence and attain social justice.

At first, the students seemed reluctant as they filled the auditorium sporadically and assuming seats distant from the stage. As students were asked to move up and towards the center a few times until cooperating, Edwards assured it would be a good time.

He then advised students to feel free to leave the auditorium if any of the discussion made them too emotional, and encouraged those to touch base with someone if this were the case.

He encouraged students to stay and talk with him after concerning the discussion, "if you think I'm full of shit."

A key point of the presentation was that 99 percent of women are the primary victims of sexual assault on the college campuses. He encouraged the audience to keep in mind that this "affects us all."

It was stressed that too often society takes the reactive approach to sexual assault issues. College women are advised not to go certain places alone, to carry mace and a cell phone with them. Women are being told "rape happens here, here's how you women need to deal with it."

Edwards said that by being polite and demonstrating positive behavior, men can redefine what it means to be greek or an athlete. He made a point to acknowledged members of the fraternity Zeta Beta Tau who were in attendance at the presentation. However, when the group left early, Edwards said, "that's how you change the perception of your fraternity."

Edwards notices this fear women have of him as a man because when walking towards them, they reach for their keys or pull out their cell phone and dial three numbers, then wait to push send. The fact that he is bothered by being acknowledged as a potential perpetrator by women, and is angered by those who rape and have taken away his humanity.

"Because some men rape, it affects all of us," Edwards said.

Edwards had a male member of the audience stand and then asked the women in the audience if they thought this student had ever been feared, the majority confirmed by raising their hands.

Edwards said that when women refuse to be afraid, the men who rape benefit. He said that a good self-defense class teaches women how to deal with and accept their fear. We live in a sexist, patriarchal society where women are told they are weak or less than men and where fear is considered feminine or an indication of weakness, said Edwards.

In a campus survey featured in the lecture, "One in 12 college men had acted in a manner which would be defined legally as rape, and 84% saw nothing wrong with what they had done."

Julianna Tobak, an undecided freshman, said that she walked into the presentation thinking she knew everything about the issue of rape, but now realizes that the media portray things that aren't reality.

Larsen and Kleinman of SASSE said that what was most critical about the presentation was that it brought SASSE and A Men's Issue together as a reflection of men and women working together, and they will fight until sexual violence ends.

Edwards said that the younger generations are being misinformed by the media. Instances such as that of Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson is not obscenity but sexual assault and it is our responsibility to pay attention and speak up, because we have the chance of making a difference.

"Don't doubt the power of your own voice," Edwards said.

Speaker to Promote Rape Awareness from Male Standpoint
by Kevin Ang
Daily Orange
February 23, 2005
Syracuse University

Syracuse University will host a presentation Thursday aimed at promoting the idea that men can stop rape.

Rape-prevention advocate Keith Edwards will speak at 5:30 p.m. in Gifford Auditorium. There is no cost to attend.

Edwards' speech will be part of a presentation titled "She Fears You," which is aimed at raising awareness among men that rape prevention is not just a women's issue but also a men's issue, Edwards said.

"Men are the main perpetrators in the cases of rapes and sexual violence in general," said Collin Capano, president of A Men's Issue. "Women are the victims, yes, but men are the ones doing it and it only makes sense that, to make it stop, we have to go to the source of the problem. Women can only do so much."

AMI is collaborating with Students Advancing Sexual Safety and Empowerment, University Union and the Office of Residence Life to bring Edwards to campus, Capano said.

"She Fears You" will use dialogue, provocative posters and a multimedia presentation to capture the attention of men about this issue, according to the Men Ending Rape Web site, a rape prevention advocacy group that Edwards belongs to.

Men Ending Rape is a speaking group that is comprised of Edwards and Troy Headrick. The two men travel to college and university campuses, delivering presentations and working with campus organizations to promote awareness about rape prevention as a men's issue, Edwards said.

The group is also trying to change what Edwards believes to be a culture on campus that condones rape, he said.

Edwards was invited to speak at SU by Tremayne Robertson, faculty advisor of AMI, Robertson said.

Robertson met Edwards in April 2004 at an American College Personnel Association conference and was impressed that Edwards held the proactive view of rape prevention.

"I subscribe to the same school of thought as Keith Edwards," Robertson said. "When you approach the issue of sexual violence, it makes sense not to be reactive, but to be proactive because men are the ones who perpetrate the crime."

Rape prevention does not enjoy an adequate level of awareness as a men's issue, said Nana Ntsakey, an undeclared sophomore in The College of Arts and Sciences.

"I don't think it's as good as it should be. Some of my friends think, 'I'm a guy. It's a women's issue. Let them handle it,'" Ntsakey said. "What if it was your mom or your sister that this happened to?"

Jessica Larsen, president of Students Advocating Sexual Safety and Empowerment, also hopes to make men relate to the problem of sexual violence, because she believes it is one that affects everybody, she said.

"We need to recognize just how prevalent it is and how it affects men even if they don't commit rape," she said.

One in four women leaving college has been sexually assaulted, Larsen said.

"Those women are our sisters, our friends, our mothers and our co-workers," Larsen said. "Sexual assault affects all of us, whether we know it or not ... It's easy to say it's not our issue, until it's one of our friends that gets raped, until it's someone we love."

Robertson said he views the objectives of the presentation and AMI as bearing a wider scope. Sexual violence is not simply a men's or women's issue, but a "human issue," he said. Until people start to view it as such, things will only get worse, he said.

"Injustice anywhere is equivalent to injustice everywhere," he said, paraphrasing Dr. Martin Luther King. "If one person is suffering, we're all suffering."

Edwards made a similar call for an end to rape and sexual violence.

"Women continue to be raped and that affects women and it affects men," Edwards said. "We need to stop rape for the obvious reasons."

Edwards Incites Men to Oppose Rape
Editor in Chief
Lauren D'Avolio
March 5, 2004
SUNY Brockport

Think of your mother, your grandmother, your sister and an aunt. Statistically, one of the them was, or will be, sexually assaulted in college. That frightening figure and several more were brought to the forefront by Keith Edwards, a College Student Personnel graduate up-and-comer at the University of Maryland, who presented "She Fears You: Men Ending Rape," a piece of the events in the limelight during "Hate To Do It: Anti-Hate Week."

Edwards tailored his aphorisms Sunday night to a practically standing-room-only crowd in the Seymour Union Ballroom - primarily comprised of Greek Life participants and resident assistants, whose attendance was compulsory - detailing what men can do to stop rape. This gist, he feels, is unique in the anti-rape speaker circuit. Edwards said his approach is no better than anyone else's, but is distinctive, and the only on of its kind he's encountered.

His objective is to anger men by relaying that 33 percent of college men would perpetrate a rape if assurance was given they'd never be caught or prosecuted. He angers them by stating that women continually perceive them as a threat to their safety and well-being. He angers them and uses their fury as a catalyst for change, because as he would say, men are feared everyday of their lives, as a result of the actions other men have taken who have violated women in the unthinkably cruel and long-lasting ways that are rape and sexual assault.

According to Edwards, women who are raped or sexually assaulted - the former meaning unwanted penetration of genitalia, the latter defined as uninvited groping or touching - have skyrocketing rates of chronic depression and suicide tendencies.

He crusades to exterminate violence against women for three paramount reasons: the women he cares about, rape negatively affecting men, but by and large for the millions of women he'll never know.

The last phone call he wants to receive is from a law enforcement agent, breaking news that his mother, sister or a female friend has been the victim of sexual assault. A bit of his humanity is taken away each time a rape is committed, as one more woman will have trepidations of men at large. One more woman will avoid him walking down a well-lit street. One more woman will wait in her car for him to simply go away so she can feel sage.

Edwards is the pick of the liter, in so far as sensitivity in a male-dominated, frequently sexist and chauvinistic society. it is colossally refreshing to see a man of graduate school stature standing on a platform he created himself saying, while he's proud to be a man, he classifies himself as a feminist. Edwards would go to bat in a nanosecond for any woman in need of emotional support, or any man willing to aid him in his fight and share his vision for a rape and sexual assault free world. His pick-of-the-litter values and chiseled good looks make him any woman's finest candidate to bring home and meet the parents.

Not all in the room were so receptive to his open-minded display of oratorical fireworks, however. Some audience members were downright hostile, demanding an explanation for why he's "against men" or "excludes the 1 percent of rapes that aren't committed by men." His answer is perfunctory: Men rape. That is a fact. All men are perceived as potential rapists.

The whole of the women in the room tended to side with Edwards, while one man was so enraged he felt his exit cure appropriate mid-conversation.

The man vacated, to stew in his fumes, as Edwards disclosed that when he initially absorbed this lecture, he was as irate, if not more. But he didn't forget it. He never forgot it. Several years down the line, after a great deal of reflection on the ignorance of his reaction and a healthy dose of maturity, his viewpoint shifted. It appears anyone so ardently disagreeing with such a speaker and a notion has the potential, ultimately, to convert their zeal to the opposing camp.

Sexual Assault on Women and Men Infuriates Keith Edwards
Jason Torreano
Brockport Stylus
March 5, 2005
SUNY Brockport

A statistic stating that 33 percent of college men would engage in rape if they were assured they'd never be caught or punished visibly angers this University of Maryland Ph.D. hopeful, studying College Student Personnel Administration. In fact, during his well-attended lecture "She Fears You," a part of the Hate To Do It: Anti-hate Week, Sunday evening in the Seymour College Union, he said he's feared. And he hates it.

"But I won't blame the women who fear me," Edwards said. "I blame the women who rape." Citing a personal drive to eradicate rape and sexual assault - the former defined by non-consensual penetration of genitalia, the latter as unwanted groping or frisking - the impassioned speaker said he habitually classifies himself as a feminist. Though he acknowledges that same-sex rape and sexual assault do occur, and that women to rape men, 99 percent of reported rape, Edwards said, are men-on women.

"Men rape. That is a fact. If men didn't rape, rape wouldn't happen. All men may be perceived as potential rapists."

He asked the audience brimming principally with Greek Life participants and resident assistants, who attendance was obligatory, to actively participate, which many students, who expected to be mere observers, took him up on. Some concurred with his messages, while others stirred contention.

Edwards delve into the advertisements posted around campus for his lecture. One such poster featured a white background, and enlarged, midnight black emblazoned font that read, "Men" and "rape" with a horizontal oval in the center that broke the text up to state "Men can stop rape."

Some participants said they found this message insulting, while others found it feministic. Another spoke up and said he thought it implies only men rape, while another found it sexist. "I don't come across many posters that make me feel badly about myself," one man said. "But I felt badly."

Another student, Zachariah Lieberman, said Edwards has valid points.

"This lecture looks at men in a positive light," Lieberman said. "It makes us think about why we're lumped into that category. The rest (of these lectures) seem to be more like support groups."

Edwards went on to ask how many people in the room have heard the following recurring themes in American life directed at women: Don't wear that. Don't go there at night. Carry mase He said he hates that women, as he's merely trying to walk home at night, reach for their cell phones and dial 911, be delay pressing "send" before his next move. He said he doesn't know what he's supposed to do.

"Should I put my hands in my pockets, or will she think I'm reaching for something? Should I cross the street? Should I scream, 'I'm not a rapist! I'm just trying to get home!/?"

Edwards decried those who wear the notorious "Big Johnson T-Shirts," as he considers there to be immeasurably more to his masculinity than his penis' length or girth. As such, he says intelligence, integrity and articulating a wide range of emotions to have deep and meaningful relationships should be at the forefront of the discussion on manliness.

"Big Johnson T-shirts dumb down and objectify women," Edwards said. "These T-shirts contribute to a 'rape culture.' Men don't know what rape is. They don't know its definition." Rape, simply defined, Edwards said, has three parts: sex, forced, sans consult. Informed consent, he said, involves parties being coherent, conscious and audibly uttering phrases that could not conceivably be misleading or inaccurate.

"No one asks to be raped," Edwards said. "Nothing makes it acceptable, Ok or that they're asking to be raped. Sex with someone who can't give informed consent is rape."