Two discussion groups on campus - one for men, one for women - are trying to make students more comfortable dealing with issues of health, gender and sexuality.
In the fall of 2004, Director of Alcohol and Drug Education Services Margot Abels and Tufts Violence Prevention Program Coordinator Elaine Theodore created a discussion group for freshman girls. The following semester it was opened to women of all years.
Abels said attendance was erratic and would range anywhere from two to 15 students.
This semester, the group returned to its original model, limiting attendance to freshmen and meeting twice each week.
"This fall we had people fill out a simple application to get into the group, to just hold people a little bit more accountable," Abels said. "We've had the same group of six girls coming every week."
The group's Thursday night meetings consist of a social event. Last week the group made "rice socks," a type of microwaveable heating pad, to stay warm in the winter. On Friday mornings the group has breakfast and a discussion.
"It's a combination of getting support, talking, getting information and being able to treat yourself really nicely for the hour," Abels said of the Friday-morning programming.
"A lot of girls came into the group really feeling lonely and feeling like they hadn't found people that they connect with," she said. "Here, they have this really solid group that they socialize with."
The group's discussions have focused on what it means to be a freshman woman and what it means to be sexual, as well as topics like alcohol, roommates and relationships.
The students in the group declined to be interviewed.
Abels and Theodore started the group because they felt strongly about doing targeted work.
The group was formed "in response to the statistics of the risks that first-semester freshman females face around sexual assault and alcohol poisoning," Abels said.
She also said the group was created to refer students to services they might need and create "a place where we can chill and talk."
Senior Reena Desai, a residential assistant in South Hall, said she would encourage her residents to apply for the group next semester. "I think this is a great resource for freshman girls," she said.
Men now also have a place to go for discussions of gender issued. The Tufts Men Activists Coalition, founded this semester, meets weekly.
"There are numerous women's groups, and we're the only men's group," freshman Jeffrey Kiok said. "We think that's an important aspect missing from this campus."
Freshman Daniel Albert agreed. "Men are oftentimes overlooked in terms of getting support just because of this social stigma that exists that men are supposed to be the stronger sex," he said.
Topics included in the group's discussions have included what it means to be a real man, gender stereotypes about men and how men are perceived at Tufts.
Next year the group plans to create a gender education program for high school and middle school boys.
