Four Men's Project members, Tom Chen '06E, Matt Peverill '07, Nick Pastan '09 and Jimmy Laff '09, participated in the walk. Several others members helped with the event by providing transportation or collecting donations through tabling in Valentine Dining Hall.
This year's walk began at 9 a.m. at Northampton's City Hall and ended at 2:30 p.m. on the Amherst town commons, where walkers were met by President Anthony Marx.
The walkers carried signs and banners demanding an end to female abuse. As they made their way down Route 9, they received support from bystanders. "As we walked, cars were constantly honking in support, people were waving," said Chen.
Peverill, who is president of the Men's Project, had his doubts about people's motives for honking. "It was hard to tell whether the honkers were supporting us or telling us to get off the roads," he said. "I suspect there was a mix on that."
Chen reported that some people who saw the walkers were very enthusiastic about the cause. "When we passed the United Way office, the entire office stopped a meeting and came out to cheer us on," he said.
When the walkers arrived back at Amherst, Marx greeted them and commended them for their efforts. The Men's Project members especially appreciated this welcome. "It's great that he was willing to come out and show his support, especially considering all the moves he's been making to make service a bigger part of the Amherst experience," said Peverill.
Marx emphasized that the walk represented an issue that is frequently present in the thoughts of College administrators. "I want people to know that the College and senior administrators, and male senior administrators, take this issue very seriously," he said.
The Men's Walk presented an excellent opportunity to put these ideals into action. "The Men's Walk to End Abuse is an important event because it's one of few events in the year where men can go out into the community and show their opposition to domestic violence," said Peverill.
Members of the Men's Project tabled in Valentine Dining Hall for four days last week, raising a total of $117. That money will be added to the money that the Men's Resource Center raised for the walk.
Men's Project members were happy with the student response to tabling. "We were pleasantly surprised at the amount raised," said Chen. "At the very least, we generated awareness about the walk, and we expect more donations and walkers next year."
By participating in the Men's Walk, students at the College were able to reach out and make a difference in important social issues affecting the local community. "We wanted to show that young men also care about the issue of domestic violence," said Chen. "The walk's organizer, Rob Okun, was very excited about our presence."
The students' involvement in the Men's Walk was a new project, and was coordinated by a relatively new student group. Men's Project members hope that in future years, Amherst will be able to get involved further in the Men's Walk and other similar projects to challenge violence.
The Men's Project worked closely with the Men's Resource Center, the local town organization that coordinates the walk, in order to send its four members on the walk.
The goals of the Men's Resource Center are very close to the goals of the Amherst's Men's Project. The Men's Project was founded two years ago by Chen. Its motto-"Exploring Masculinity, Challenging Violence"-reflects its goals of understanding and challenging traditional definitions of masculinity.
The Men's Project also explores the relationship between these definitions of masculinity and violence, and works to prevent violence, particularly sexual assault and domestic violence.
Assistant Director of Health Education and Sexual Assault Counselor Gretchen Krull was extremely grateful to students who participated in the event in any way. "I want to give a special thanks to the men who walked, who literally 'took steps' to 'say no' to violence as well as to the men who were with them in spirit but unable to walk and to all those who supported the walk financially," she said. "In my mind, it will take the efforts of both men and women to successfully eliminate violence, particularly against women."
Krull explained the importance of the walk's message. "Although most men will never perpetrate violence against women, most violence against women is perpetrated by men," she said. "'The 'Men Walking to End Abuse' campaign shows women that there are allies in this effort to end violence, that many men do not support acts of violence in any form."
Friday's walk from Northampton to Amherst was the second of three separate walks that took place over three consecutive days. The walks were intended to raise money to fund the Men's Center's batterer-intervention program, Moving Forward. Half of the money went to five different women's centers in the area. Various businesses gave money for the walk, and individual walkers also got people to pledge for their participation in the event.
The Men's Walk to End Abuse has been held every October for the past three years, to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The walk was organized by the local Men's Resource Center, a group started in 1982 which now runs many programs based around stopping violence and challenging long-standing male stereotypes.