The student government association (SGA) could be moving closer toward establishing a Men’s Educational Center on campus.

The bill, expected to be voted on tonight, was originally proposed by SGA Senator Christian Matthew in the beginning of the semester as a response to an incident involving the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon during fall 2011. 

SigEp was shut down last year when a controversial survey circulated among fraternity members that asked the question: If you could rape someone, who would it be and why?, according to a past Cynic article.

A September report by the Gender-based Sexual Violence Task Force recommended that the University should grant base funding to hire a full-time educator and create a center for men.

“We recommend support for a multi-phased plan that will lead to the creation of a Men’s Educational Center,” the report stated.

The new Men’s Educational Center would be a place for UVM men to feel comfortable with men’s issues, SGA speaker Knight Ducharme said. It would be a place with information for men that neither the Health Center nor the Women’s Center can provide.

The center already has prospective staff members through UVM faculty, SGA President Connor Daley said.

Some members of SGA’s senate are already on board.

“I think it’s a really great idea,” Senator Eleanor Auchincloss said. “UVM is such a diverse community that having a men’s education center in addition to the Women’s Center will be hugely beneficially to the community, especially since the college years are a time when people are really coming into themselves.”

SGA plans to vote on a bill to develop the center at tonight’s meeting.

To learn more about the Men’s Educational Center and other UVM issues, SGA holds meetings at 7 p.m. every Tuesday in the fourth floor of the Davis Center.