Sexual assault awareness groups came together outside the Memorial Union Wednesday to promote awareness and state that real men always ask before sex.
Members from the Intergroup Relations Center and Homesafe hosted a booth in front of the MU surrounded by photographs of shirtless men with the slogan "I always ask" written on their chests.
The display had numerous students sidetracked while walking to class.
"We've gotten some positive (reactions), some negative and people challenging our views here," said Grace Chang, an ASU graduate, of the photos. "At least they come up here to challenge us — we love to have dialogue and have them tell us what (the pictures) make them feel."
Grace, a program coordinator for the IRC, said she hoped the booth worked to provoke an interest in students to attend a forum today at 3:30 p.m.
"Let's Talk: Sexual Assault and Rape Prevention Forum" will be held in the Business Building, room BA 365, and will feature a panel of four ASU officials discussing the topic of sexual assaults and alcohol abuse on campus.
Sexual assault prevention groups have been targeting students at the request of University administration, with a focus on educating groups like fraternities and sororities about the importance of promoting responsible behavior, said Raymond Wang, a program coordinator for Homesafe.
"Certain fraternities were very receptive and others were not as receptive," Wang said. "The vast majority of men agreed, it's the deviant ones that get all the attention."
He said the Intrafraternity council was obligated to go through sexual assault prevention programs after two alleged sexual assaults on Alpha Drive were filed in September.
Even though it's hard to tell if students are being receptive to the information, educating the public will continue to be a priority for the groups, Wang added.
And that's exactly what ASU President Michael Crow said he wanted to see shortly after the incidents took place.
"Students sometimes don't understand the relationship between alcohol consumption and losing one's ability to make good decisions," Crow said in a September interview. "And so the decisions are what we are hoping to help people make."
Currently, ASU sexual assault numbers are consistent with most national universities, as female students report that one in 20 have experienced an attempted or completed sexual assault, said Dena Hester, a sexual assault prevention coordinator at the ASU Wellness and Health Center.
One out of 100 men reported being sexually assaulted, she added.
But the actual number of incidents may be more staggering than reported, Hester added.
"When you're thinking about 63,000 students at ASU, it's a couple thousand women and a couple hundred men (reporting sexual assaults)," she said. "So when you look at the statistics, you can see the disconnect from what's actually happening and what's being reported."
Whatever the case may be, students are still very aware of the topic but need to communicate better, Hester said.
The sexual assault awareness booth caught business junior Kareem Abdullah's eye as he walked by the photographs.
"Hells yeah, I always ask — real men ask," he said in passing. "You're damn right real men don't rape. You've got to be a lame if you've got to rape someone."
Reach the reporter at: daniel.oconnor@asu.edu.
