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It's About You, Man

By Elizabeth Shé

"Music by men, for men." So go the first words on the CD, Between the Beats. What's new? Most music is by men for men, as are films, television, advertising – media, period. But this is different. This CD is the brainchild of Todd Denny, The Evergreen State College (TESC) grad '85, and part of the Men's Violence Prevention Music Project (MVP). In the song "Fear Economy," MVP exhorts you to "raise your glasses to the fear economy. War, professional sports and pornography. Timber, television and the prison industry. Corporate music,alcohol and gasoline." Eerily apt, in light of the events on September 11. Now, more than ever, boys and men need non-violent role models. And Denny wants to provide them.

Denny also wants to make rape and domestic violence a male issue. "For 30 years it's been a women's issue. That defies common logic.We've got to stop de-gendering violence. It's not teen violence or gang violence – it's male violence." Full of stats and facts, he reels off that mostly boys and men, ages 14 to 29, are responsible for the majority of violent acts in our society. Why, then, is this labeled a women's issue? He doesn't wait around for an answer. Instead, he's crafted a program to reach those 14- to 29-year-olds with music. Music not only soothes the savage beast, it makes him change his behavior, or so Denny believes. MVP's musical messages are simple, with good rappin' beats: treat women well, look out for other humans, that woman in Playboy is somebody's mother,sister, or daughter, and intervene if you see something dangerous about to happen.

Originally from Illinois, Denny credits TESC faculty member David Whitener and the Native American Studies program with pushing him in the right direction. "Work with your own people," advised Whitener back in 1982, also urging Denny to work with groups instead of individuals. Today, Whitener says, "The philosophy of our program was to encourage people to do what they do best. Todd obviously understood that. He's adept at doing that."

Like many a Greener after him, Denny interned at Safeplace, the rape relief and women's shelter in Olympia. "I wouldn't be where I am today without Safeplace," Denny says. The position initially called for basic childcare, but while he was there, Denny developed activities to help children cope with abuse. When the mothers went off to discuss domestic violence issues with Safeplace counselors, Denny spent the time with the children – an hour of coping and expressing activities, another hour playing "just for fun."

Denny went on to receive his master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois, where he founded an organization called Men Against Rape. As a U of I staff member, he designed and facilitated curriculum for rape prevention programs. Entertainment Tonight filmed the Denny-organized male protest against Playboy recruiters on campus, and he was featured in the PBS documentary, "Date Rape: A Different Set of Rules." Denny has been working in the violence prevention field for 17 years, offering interactive programs to schools and conferences. To date, he has conducted more than 500 sexual assault and domestic violence education workshops.His programs are endorsed by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Washington State Senator Lisa Brown and Safeplace.

Denny's mentor says the Greener is ahead of his time. "He's on the cutting edge, using popular culture to educate people about male violence. The hardest thing is to make people aware of their socialization, especially teenagers. MVP is very effective," says Fred Schrumf, student services coordinator for the Spokane Public School District.

Passionate about primary prevention, Denny goes to the source of the violence problem – men. "I am not anti-male. Some of my best friends are male," he jokes, then continues in a more serious vein, "Our ideas of masculinity have to change. People are desperate. The catalyst for me was all the school shootings. They were mostly done by suburban white boys who had been bullied and harassed. We [MVP] offer primary prevention, not secondary, not tertiary. We are all about creating new opportunities and looking for new expectations."

Like rap. One day during one of his anti-violence programs, Denny started rapping spontaneously. The kids joined in, and afterwards, he heard them making up their own anti-violence raps. "That's when I knew I was on to something."

That initial rap session led to a CD, but Denny thought he sounded too white, too straight, too old. His fears were affirmed by the evaluations he received, which suggested he "get rid of the white guy." He realized if he wanted to do this right, he had to have the right musicians. He heard about a rapper-poet-artist named C.A.U.T.I.O.N. (Critical Association Under the Influence of No one), and a rappin' cowboy from Montana named Sandman. Enter Terrance Turner (C.AU.T.I.O.N.) and Chris "Sandman" Sand. They listened to Denny's spiel, liked his ideas, and hopped aboard the Men's Violence Prevention Music Project. Add Adrian Martinez to the literal mix (current Greener, musician and recording engineer), and boom, you've got driving beats without hit-me-over-the-head messages. "We're close to something great," Denny says. And when I find myself singing the lyrics to "Fear Economy," I have to agree.


Poet and novelist Elizabeth Shé '99 has been known to float poetry boats and hang interactive poetry clotheslines. She's THE FOUNDER OF POETS FOR PEACE.