Grinnell College has always focused on ensuring that we live in a safe campus environment. While most individuals—63 percent, as stated in the Fall 2009 Campus Climate Assessment—believe that the campus feels safe, there are still things that can be improved. With a focus on creating a safer campus through the education of incoming students, we applaud the work put forth by campus group Real Men.

Real Men is a collaboration between several campus groups including Student Affairs, the Center for Religious Studies and Social Justice and the Athletics Department (see the article on page 10). The main goal of Real Men is to spread awareness of sexual assault and make more men the preventers, rather than perpetrators, of related sexual crimes. It is an interesting approach to a complicated and often taboo problem. And the fact that Real Men is tackling the problem head on without many reservations is admirable.
One aspect of Real Men that will benefit the campus community is a mandatory workshop planned for incoming male athletes. By doing this, almost a third of incoming male students will receive education on sexual assault before they even begin classes. Taking an hour or so out of New Student Orientation is a small cost for an essential and eye-opening experience that benefits both the students involved and the campus as a whole.

Along with other workshops for the entire campus community, Real Men will hopefully lay some groundwork for other students to form additional groups that will appeal to specific populations in order to further create a campus where a higher number of individuals will feel safe. Good job, Real Men. Keep doing the right thing.