Men’s health finally addressed by class

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in
Chief  Timothy Kudo

Managing Editor
 Michael Falcone

Viewpoint Editor
 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

Staff Representatives
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao
 Kelly Rayburn

Editorial Board Assistants
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao

  Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of
the Daily Bruin Editorial Board. All other columns, letters and
artwork represent the opinions of their authors.   All
submitted material must bear the author’s name, address, telephone
number, registration number, or affiliation with UCLA. Names will
not be withheld except in extreme cases.   The Bruin
complies with the Communication Board’s policy prohibiting the
publication of articles that perpetuate derogatory cultural or
ethnic stereotypes.   When multiple authors submit
material, some names may be kept on file rather than published with
the material. The Bruin reserves the right to edit submitted
material and to determine its placement in the paper. All
submissions become the property of The Bruin. The Communications
Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints
against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete
procedure, contact the Publications office at 118 Kerckhoff Hall.
Daily Bruin 118 Kerckhoff Hall 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA
90024 (310) 825-9898

The Department of Student Health’s decision to add another
section to its current Health 199 male development class next
quarter finally brings more recognition to the often overlooked
health and wellness needs of male students.

The course ““ the first of its kind ““ focuses on
issues involving multicultural identity, anger management,
interpersonal relationships and gender as these relate to males
specifically; a total of 50 students will be allowed to enroll in
the class next quarter.

Women’s Health 199 was established last year with grants
received by the university restricted to addressing female health
issues, and not men’s. The budget allocated to the health
education program this year, though, allowed the development of a
male counterpart to the female-oriented course this year. The fact
that the Student Health Department was given grant money to treat
only female health issues speaks to a common, albeit negative
perception of the emotional needs of males and the extent to which
these need to be addressed. Much of the negligence males face can
be attributed to the stereotypical, socially constructed image of
them ““ they are usually dismissed as sexually frustrated
beings who are not as emotionally complex as females. But just as
objectifying females is detrimental to their self-esteem and to
their treatment by society, lumping males into a homogenous entity
hurts them too ““ it grossly overlooks male diversity of race,
sexuality and experience.

The efforts by the student health department should translate
into a serious campuswide effort to address more general
male-specific issues, as is already done for women by both the
women’s studies program and the UCLA Center for the Study of
Women.