Joshua Stoneman enlisted in the Navy before 9/11 in 2001. He served for ten years across thirty countries conducting merchant vessel boardings, oil rig defenses, anti-piracy measures and anti-terrorism operations, all while keeping shipping lanes open. Stoneman lived in Greece for one year, Japan for three, and served on a guided missle cruiser for five years. He since married in Japan, and now he and his current partner live in Wisconsin.
During Joshua’s second deployment, his first son was born. Upon returning, the bottom fell out from his relationship with his first-born’s mother. A family court judge deemed Joshua’s service “detrimental” to his then infant son’s well-being, allowing only allowed visitation rights and not joint custody. After many years, cases and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, Joshua still watches his first son grow older and emotionally distant because the court said so.
It is because of love for his sons that Joshua Stoneman founded the second Zen Men chapter at Madison Area Technical College (MATC) while working on his new engineering degree.
Joshua’s aims to help young men avoid the same hardships he faced, and to tell young minds in colleges everywhere that men are not criminal, violent, or rapacious by nature. Joshua sees men as noble, compassionate and therefore deserving of credit where credit is due. He wants to help put a stop to the forces that paint men as harmful towards women and children.
So long as Zen Men @ MATC (ZMMATC) abides by Zen Men LLC’s Terms of Chapter Affiliation, it is eligible for affiliation benefits that support activist missions local to MATC.
Donors to Zen Men LLC should know that their contributions are no longer just going to a single organization, but rather to a men’s rights activist network across academia. ZMMATC’s faculty sponsor is a #WomanAgainstFeminism, meaning that she as an adviser is more courageous than the first adviser for Zen Men @ Kennesaw State U (ZMKSU).
It’s too soon to say what the future will hold for ZMMATC, but amazing things happen when the right passion. Joshua organized several students because he is a leader in his own right, and based on what I see so far, he’s not going to let anyone stop him from restoring sanity.
Joshua’s current plan is to teach students how to protect themselves in risky relationships, and what it means to be a good parent. While there are no promises this early in the game, Joshua aspires to start new chapters on other Wisconsin campuses.
To follow ZMMATC’s work, visit its MATC CollegiateLink profile. Major announcements will appear either on AVfM publications or on ZenMen.org.
Please help me welcome Joshua, his adviser, and their followers to Zen Men LLC’s network, and herald in the start of a new era in academia. With help from men like Joshua, young men and women will learn real world lessons that gender studies professors would never teach.
If you are interested in starting your own Zen Men LLC chapter, read our Terms of Chapter Affiliation and fill out the form on the bottom of the page.
