"We're not like those anti-rape guys on campus. We want to be the pro-women guys."
So declared College freshman and Phi Kappa Sigma member Matt Amalfitano. He is an active member of One in Four, a national organization that aims to reduce sexual assault by empowering both men and women.
The program - founded here at Penn in the fall of 2006 by College senior Nick Roosevelt and Wharton senior Stuart Stein - is reaching out to Penn's newest fraternity members this semester.
The members of One in Four are working with the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Office of Public Education to reach every pledge class this semester and next fall.
"This is an opportunity for the chapters to educate their members," College junior and IFC president David Ashkenazi said. "There's no downside here. This can only help and continue to help the Greek community."
He added that he also hopes to increase the number of fraternity members participating in the program. Currently, the only two fraternities with members are Phi Kappa Sigma and Sigma Epsilon.
One in Four is one of the fastest growing rape prevention programs and the only program in the nation statistically proven to reduce rape and sexual assault.
"The name One in Four actually comes from the statistic that one in four women from the age of thirteen to the time they graduate college will have survived rape," Amalfitano said. "The scarier thing is that four out of five of these women will have known their rapists for a year on average."
The presentation the group makes to fraternities is entitled "How to Help a Sexual Assault Victim: What Men Can Do".
College sophomore Josh Pollack, President of the One in Four chapter at Penn, said the presentation is "really a program designed to put men in the role of helping survivors. We describe . the statistics and the myths about sexual assault and rape." The program emphasizes labeling the women as survivors rather than victims.
The trademark of the presentation is that it does not blame men for rape.
"Guys don't want to be labeled as rapists. Guys are not rapists," Amalfitano said. "The mission of the group is to change our name to One in Five or One in Six," he added. "We'd be more than happy to change our T-shirts."
Stein, a previous president of the One in Four Penn chapter, said that both the University has been very receptive to the program. The fraternities have also been a 'great partner thus far."
Ashkenazi said that One in Four hopes to give a presentation about the program to each fraternity at one of its chapter meetings this semester.
"People are much more comfortable being more forthcoming with friends in the house. It is a more convenient setting," Ashkenazi said. He believes this approach will lead to a "higher yield and more people involved in the program."
"What we want to do is reach as many men across campus as possible," Stein said. He added that he hopes to eventually give the presentation to all incoming freshmen at Penn, though admitted that goal may "a couple of years down the line."
"It's a big deal for college guys," said Amalfitano. "I think that there are a lot of people who feel strongly about rape. Guys at Penn are outstanding, great guys. Without the presentation we are a great University, but with the program we're only going to be better."
