With a viral TED talk, multiple books and the creation of a bystander prevention program under his belt, Jackson Katz has dedicated his life to educating others on the dangers of gender violence and how to prevent it.

While it may be that point in the semester when midterms are piling up, essay deadlines are approaching and problem sets seem like they will never end, don’t allow those worries to make you miss hearing Katz speak at Graham Chapel on Thursday.

Katz, who is a cultural and social theorist, pioneered the “bystander approach” in relation to gender violence prevention. In addition to developing this now popular prevention method, he has written considerably about gender violence and, specifically, about a man’s role in gender violence prevention. He has lectured at over 2,500 institutions and, now, Washington University students have the chance to listen to him as well. Here are seven reasons why you should ditch the books and head on over to Graham Chapel to hear Katz speak this week:

1. It’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
This is only one of several events that Leaders in Interpersonal Violence Education (LIVE) has planned to garner support for sexual assault prevention. Show your support for this organization and the cause, and maybe you’ll learn some new things, too.

2. He’s an internationally renowned author, educator and filmmaker. His educational video “Tough Guise” was featured in “Miss Representation,” an award-winning documentary that examines the effect of media on girls and women.

3. His most recent book, “Man Enough?: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the Politics of Presidential Masculinity,” examines the gender politics of the presidential race. He makes the intriguing argument that this race has less to do with Clinton’s femininity and more to do with Trump’s masculinity. Since the book came out this week, you should expect him to include some comments that are very timely to the political climate.

4. He talks primarily about masculinity, which is too often forgotten in discussions of gender relations. Discourse surrounding gender is generally heavily focused on femininity, but it is necessary to include masculinity in all of those discussions. Hopefully, Katz will spur our community to consider critically the role of masculinity at Wash. U.

5. His program, Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), takes the stance that the best way to attack gender violence is by training bystanders to take action. This is very similar to the Green Dot training program implemented at Wash. U., so it will most likely resonate with many audience members who have gone through Green Dot training.

6. His TED talk, “Violence against women—it’s a men’s issue,” has been viewed over 2.5 million times. That alone tells you that he’s a captivating speaker and that it’s bound to be an engaging lecture.

7. Sexual assault is a very real problem on campus. Student Life reported last September that around one-third of female Wash. U. undergraduates will experience nonconsensual sexual contact at least once in their college career. Our numbers fall in line with national averages, which means we as a community need to be taking greater action to wipe out sexual assault. Regardless of how much you know about the issues surrounding sexual assault, this guest lecture is the perfect opportunity to start or learn more.

Jackson Katz will speak in Graham Chapel at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday, April 7. His lecture will be followed by a short Q&A session.