At roughly 9:00 am on Saturday, Feb. 8, Eddie Lincoln, CEO of Rainier Scholars, stood up and began to speak, starting UPrep’s fourth Young Men’s Conference. His audience of roughly 18 students and approximately 15 adults sat in the ULab and listened to his description of masculinity.
“This not only had an impact on how I view men, mental health, and their role in society, but also had a big impact on how I view the world and how I view just life in general,” eighth grade student Rowan Glidden, said about the conference.
After Lincoln’s speech, students were able to attend one of five workshops about masculinity, such as a presentation titled “Masculinity, Sexuality, and Porn”. In the afternoon, students were able to choose to attend one of five activities, presentation led by UPrep students about positive and negative examples of masculinity.
“Giving students choice is the antidote to boredom. The more students that can choose their own path, the less they’re having to do what we [the facilitators of the conference] think they should do and more getting to choose for themselves, ” science teacher Moses Rifkin, a facilitator of the conference, said.
UPrep’s Young Men’s Conference started in 2019 with Rifkin after he was inspired by a description he heard of a similar event at the People of Color Conference. The conference, according to the National Association of Independent Schools website aims “to provide a safe space for leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools.”
UPrep has tried to expand the Young Men’s Conference by inviting more schools each year.
“This shouldn’t be something just for UPrep,” Rifkin said.
Two schools (SAAS and Overlake), in addition to UPrep, have registered for the conference as a result of this initiative.
“[The number of schools that registered] is a little disappointing to me because I like having lots of different perspectives,” Rifkin said.
Stephan Chan, a junior from Overlake, attended the conference.
“It’s been a great experience. I feel very honored to have been able to meet great influences and role models such as Eddie [Lincoln],” Chan said.
As the Young Men’s Conference continues to grow, its structure may shift.
“My ultimate goal would be to hand this off to the students, like the SOCCS [UPrep’s Student Organized Consent Conference] model where its student-run and the adults are there just to provide the framework and the support,” UPrep English teacher Sean Patella-Buckley, a facilitator of the conference, said.
Ultimately, as the Young Men’s Conference continues to change, its message remains constant.
“I hope that the more boys and men who are thinking about their identities, the better; the better for us and the better for everyone,” Rifkin said. “I hope that’s the impact.”