MEDIA RELEASE
For Release: Immediate Contact: Gar Kellom
SJU Vice President for Student DevelopmentSeptember 27, 2000 (320) 363-2737 E-mail: [email protected]
Written by: Glenda Isaacs BurgesonCommunication & Marketing Services(320) 363-2480 E-mail: [email protected]
Saint John's Seeks Solutions to Men's Health Crisis
Collegeville, Minn. - A presentation on health issues among college men by a national authority in the field is part of an ongoing effort by Saint John's University to counter alarming trends in the status of men's health. Will Courtney's presentation, "Men's Health: Get a Healthy Life," scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Peter Engel Science Center on the SJU campus, is sponsored by the Men's Lives Series, one of a number of innovative programs SJU has initiated to address issues men face, including the health crisis.
SJU is ideally suited to a leadership role is this area, according to Gar Kellom, vice president for student development, because it is one of only a few men's colleges in the nation and because of its partnership with the College of Saint Benedict, which provides expertise in gender research.
The SJU model centers on redefining or developing new masculinities in the learning environment to guide its overall developmental focus, including that of health, Kellom said.
"Our faculty, coaches and staff are redefining masculinity for our students away from what popular culture dictates toward a more Benedictine definition of masculinity," he said.
"The Benedictine tradition provides a counter-cultural definition of masculinity with values such as building community, listening, respect for the sacred journey of all individuals and working for justice."
The Men's Lives Series is one way students have explored new masculinities. The series, which brings to campus experts in the field of men's studies, developed as a result of a men's reading group involving students, faculty and staff, and is now sponsored by the SJU Student Senate.
Because Saint John's embraces a holistic residential education, it seeks to integrate all areas of development -- intellectual, physical, occupational, emotional, and social -- with a spiritual developmental core. This model guides the way programs are tailored to address student needs with a male point of view in mind.
"For example, we know that college men take greater risks than women do, such as speeding, reckless driving, smoking. College men also engage in fewer health protection measures. In the area of mental health, men are far less likely to seek treatment, even though depressive symptoms are common among both male and female students," he said.
"Consequently, Saint John's has developed peer programs to train student paraprofessionals to develop appropriate messages. In fact, the delivery of much of our men's developmental programming is done through a skilled group of student leaders who are trained to work in counseling, campus life, leadership, residential life and career services."
Saint John's has combined counseling and career services to create effective outreach programs. A group of Peer Resource People has developed a challenge course, an outdoor leadership center, a climbing wall and an outward-bound orientation program to connect students with student development professionals. The relationships formed from these encounters have led to successful referrals for counseling.
A class in men's health is now required for all male students. The course, developed in conjunction with a companion class on women's health, introduces first-year students to men's and women's issues and why there is a need to study from a gender specific perspective. The class explores the reasons why men are dying an average of six years younger than women do, as well as prevention strategies that may appeal to college men.
The emphasis on health also has moved beyond the classroom with the Men's Health Initiative. This program, one of four learning communities funded by a Bush Foundation grant, combines faculty and residence life staff expertise to create a learning community dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle for residents.
The effort includes a cross-disciplinary cooperative learning course involving nursing and nutrition faculty, health educators and residence hall staff, as well as wellness programming within the residence halls.
Saint John's University for men and the College of Saint Benedict for women are partners in liberal arts education, providing students the opportunity to benefit from the distinctions of not one, but two nationally recognized Catholic, residential, undergraduate institutions. Together CSB and SJU challenge students to live balanced lives of learning, work, leadership and service in a changing world.
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