St. Lawrence Men Stand Out

What a drive. From Albany to Canton, NY, you experience a beautiful journey through the Adirondack Mountains (including going through Lake Placid, NY).  The mountains went forever with sporadic points of special beauty, including lakes in the middle of the range.  Gorgeous.  At the end of the 4 hour drive, I arrived in Canton to speak at St. Lawrence University.

Each year at St. Lawrence, my day starts having a dinner with male student leaders from campus.  The men on this campus have taken sexual assault awareness as an important issue to address.  2 Groups lead the way.  ATO Greek House and MAASV (Male Athletes Against Sexual Violence).  Both sets of men are doing fantastic work.  From hosting a "Pledge to Protect" party at the ATO House to MAASV putting on a special White Ribbon Campaign Event.  The MAASV White Ribbon Campaign program was completely interactive with real-life scenarios played out and then "referrees" throwing flags at inappropriate behavior in the role-plays.  Next, you discuss the inappropriate behavior and then you SHOW an appropriate way to have handled the situation.  As the dinner was winding down, the founder of MAASV, Rich, informed me how part of the concept was inspired from his freshman year watching my program. I am honored, Rich!! Thank you.  The MAASV student leaders introduced me throughout the night (you can see them in the attached pictures).

Onto the program.  The house was packed.  You could hear the energy of the theatre 10 minutes before start time.  Right from the beginning, students were cheering, laughing, and having lots of fun.  Within a few minutes, you knew this was a special night.  Both sessions (7pm and 9pm) were interactive, respectful, and very responsive.  This group wanted the "Want Some Action?" shirts!!  By the end of the first program, we were out of almost every size shirt (and we still had the 9pm program coming up).  Hearing back from St. Lawrence in a few months is going to be fun. With the shirts being worn around campus, you typically get great opportunities for change to occur throughout the year!

On a sad night, Kate McCaffrey is leaving St. Lawrence.  Kate has been bringing me to campus for 4 years and has run some sensational programming for the campus.  She will be missed by all.  We wish her the greatest of success in her new endeavors and hope to see her down-the-road! Amanda is taking over Kate's responsibilities and we look forward to working with her.  Katie was a huge help tonight.  If you ever need someone to support you after you just got done speaking (handling students; helping with the educational resources; and much more), Katie is your person. Thanks, Katie.