Photo courtesy of Nerdarchy
Covenant is hosting the college’s first ever men’s self-defense class on Thursday, March 26, in Barnes. Previously, the college has sponsored a “ladies-only” self-defense class each semester but has not provided a parallel opportunity for men at Covenant.
Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded institutions. Specifically, the statute reads, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance[.]”
What this means in practical terms is that if Covenant provides a gender specific opportunity for male students—a mens basketball team, for example—they are required by federal law to provide an equal opportunity for female students—like a women’s basketball team or another similarly funded team sport.
At Covenant, it seems no men have ever requested a parallel opportunity, and so the college never offered. While men at Covenant have a favorable view of a men’s self-defense class—several saying they would attend if it were offered—they tend not to consider the class a high enough priority to request it themselves.
“Covenant is generally a safe place, it’s not really something I think about,” James Lewin ’27 remarks. However, Lewin said he would love to attend a men’s self-defense class if it works with his schedule. Likewise, Charlie von Rosenberg ’28, a volunteer firefighter, says “It wouldn’t hurt; no one’s at the point where they couldn’t use self-defense.”
Some have argued against having a men’s self-defense class at all. Emily Martin ’28 observes, “Although I know it’s not the case, the media narrative is that men commit all the crimes, that’s all you hear about.”
“Men are stereotypically not ‘victims,’” Shiloh Cannon ’27 observes. “Society says girls need to know [self-defense] so they don’t get attacked by men. Men don’t need to know it because they’re men, they’re tough guys and can handle themselves, even if that’s not necessarily the case.”
Crime data suggest that men need self-defense training at least as much as women do. The most recent FBI crime data report that men are 1.2 times more likely to be victims of aggravated assault than women (M: 420K – F: 353K), men are 3.4 times more likely to be victims of homicide (M: 11.7K – F: 3.46K), and two times more likely to be victims of robbery (M: 133K – F: 65.4K). In total, men make up 52% of violent crime victims.
Lewin concludes that the class “is worthwhile long term whether you consider yourself capable of defending yourself when it counts or not . . . . Self-defense is a necessary life skill that men need,” not only for themselves, but also, as Cannon puts it, “to defend the vulnerable.”
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Nerdarchy.