COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. —The Institute for Women’s Leadership at the College of St. Benedict encouraged students to walk out of class Thursday afternoon for a sit-in to demand action and stand up against sexual misconduct.
Bennies overdramatic?
William Schwinghammer’s article inthe student newspaper foisted St. John’s and St. Benedict gender issues into broad public attention, He quoted Bennies with concerns that Johnnies might not come forward with information about awarding points for sexual conquests. Some Bennies see Johnnies, at least some, are not taking the issue seriously. “I think a lot of guys don’t want to come to terms with the fact that their friends or themselves would do that,” one Benny said. She said of her guy friends there is a feeling that the Bennies are overdramatic and trying to ruin people’s lives. “That’s just been a consistent thing, that they don’t think that these comments or games are wrong. They just think of it as part of their lives.” This issue speaks to a larger culture on the Roman Catholic colleges, the Bennie aid.
A Johnny “culture of silence”?
Jeff Glover, St. John’s assistant director for student support, said that campus dialogue has raised the awareness to the role of bystander intervention.” Even so, he said, there Johnnies engaging in a “culture of silence.”Glover: “There are Johnnies who know something, and they’re not saying anything.”