Kennesaw State University Men (KSUM) is the first men’s human rights student organization to emerge from the A Voice for Men (AVfM) community and the first men’s rights organization in the state of Georgia.
We grew a flower in concrete, and with your help we can put men’s rights on campus permanently.
KSUM is hosting a conference on educational equity called Male Students in Peril (MSP) on November 1, which is five days before KSUM’s one-year anniversary and ten days before the officer election that will take KSUM into the future.
We tell KSU students that there is no need to speak of men’s humanity in hushed tones. It is up to us to end educational inequity on campus, and we ask students one simple question: Do you wish to live in a culture of fear, where you are not allowed to speak about the humanity of certain groups of people?
Although students signed a petition saying they wanted KSUM, our members both old and new have been frightened to speak openly. But here are some people who are starting to crawl, slowly but surely, out from under the boot of dogma.
We have a chance to show one of the fastest-growing universities in Georgia what equity looks like, and believe me, they need that lesson. I understand the fear of saying what people won’t like, but no risk is too great if it means announcing to the world that men are people too.
MHRM leaders will voice the taboo truth at the KSU Carmichael Student Center on November 1 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST (speakers are subject to change).
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Johnathan Taylor (keynote) is an expert in composition and argumentation, a walking statistics portal, and the founder of A Voice for Male Students (AVFMS). AVFMS is the go-to resource on educational equity issues affecting males. |
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Karen Straughan (a.k.a. GirlWritesWhat) is a Canadian writer, lecturer, and videographer known for her encyclopedic treatises on the gender zeitgeist. She spoke at the New York Libertarian Party, at Ryerson University, on CTV, and from a panel seat next to a flabbergasted Naomi Wolf. |
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Janice Fiamengo, Ph.D, is a professor of English at the University of Ottawa and a former feminist. She courageously speaks out against double standards and dogma in scholarship, even in the face of academic animosity. |
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Miles Groth, Ph.D, is a professor of psychology at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, and the founder of Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies. Groth is the current editor of New Male Studies, an open-access, interdisciplinary journal for research of issues facing boys and men worldwide. |
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Paul Elam, a former mental health professional, is the founder of A Voice for Men, the men’s rights flagship organization. AVfM is now an international community with 24/7 radio broadcasts and subsidiary publications in Italy, Brazil, Sweden, Ecuador, and Australia (with upcoming publications in Farsi and Hebrew). |
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Sage Gerard (a.k.a. Victor Zen) (organizer, master of ceremonies) is the founder of KSU Men, the first men’s rights student organization to emerge from the AVfM community. Sage was interviewed by USA Today, Mother Jones, PJTV, The New Republic, and other publications for activism that can help change campus life in the future. Sage currently serves as the Collegiate Activism Director of AVfM. |
We secured space for up to 422 people, along with the necessary production equipment.
But we have a problem.
Ticket revenue comes after the event and will not be sufficient cover costs, so we need $13,000 in 30 days to cover promotion, facility fees, security, speakers, lodging, and travel. If we go beyond our goal, we can arrange for extended time, additional speakers, or catering.
One of our stretch goals is to hire Dr. Fred Jones, who spoke at the ICMI. His inclusion would be groundbreaking because he is a former professor from the Coles College of Business, the home of KSU’s flagship business program. If KSU students see a distinguished KSU professor speak about the risks facing young men today, then words cannot express how successful this event will be.
Ticket sales will start on August 1. *
I hate to bring yet another financial burden onto this community, but I’m afraid the timing is as good as it is ever going to be. If every AVfM reader repeatedly donated just $1 an hour, we would reach our goal today.
The media is starting to notice us. Recently, Jenny Jarvie from The New Republic and the Los Angeles Times reached out to us, as did a Josh Pate, a Kennesaw journalist who interned for KSU student media.
The resistance is also growing. People are repeatedly ripping down our banners and writing little notes on our flyers.
I also get emails full of sheer insanity.
Kennesaw citizens are also a-twittering.
KSU will soon have its own Title IX-backed football program and an entire new campus from Southern Polytech State University (SPSU) next year. In fall 2011, 4,590 of 5,784 SPSU students were male (79%). KSU is currently (and long has been) a predominantly female campus (~60%), with 24,604 students by fall 2012. The merge will create a roughly 50/50 split in the student body between men and women. This break in enrollment trends creates new opportunities and a need to watch over future developments.
No more rhetoric; it’s time for results. This is a huge opportunity, folks. We’re not just expanding the dialogue, we are installing the first AVfM-backed student organization on campus and making it last, regardless of what ideologues think about us.
The game-changing KSUM election is coming, and we need people who are just as passionate about men’s rights as I am, if not more so.
All I am asking is for you to get excited and make history, because KSUM will not survive without people who care.
Will you help KSUM put men’s rights on campus by donating or volunteering?
Note that donations go to KSUM, NOT AVFM.
» CLICK HERE TO DONATE «
» CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER «
* EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION: Tickets are NOT being sold for profit. Since the fundraiser is expected to cover the cost of the conference, tickets are “sold” in the sense that there are a limited number of tickets available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Supporters will not be charged for tickets, but are asked to make a recommended donation to help KSUM operations, to handle unexpected costs, and to reinvest in the MHRM community. Contributors who get “free tickets” in the FundAnything campaign are getting priority access to tickets before they are offered to the general public.
