Masculinity, to me, is the ability of a man to take care of his own and to handle his business without cutting corners. A man to me is one who ensures his family has what they need, provides aid to friends when they need it, and maintains his integrity. I have never equated the ability to grow a beard with one's level of masculinity, though it seems that society often subscribes to these cosmetic approaches to what masculinity truly means these days. It is also often implied that if a man's masculinity is challenged, fighting is an appropriate method of handling the issue. This could not be further from the truth. I am reminded of the definition of the word "meek" that a friend told me once, stating that it meant "a quiet strength". I feel that this is a more appropriate definition for masculinity, or at least for what it should be. Someone who can be disrespected and move on exhibits far more  self-control and worthiness of respect than someone does who chooses to act out aggressively. On campuses, I see men being afraid to take courses or to do well in courses that may have a more feminine connotation such as literature or gender studies. I feel, from conversations that I have had, that doing well in a class that teaches poetry threatens some men in that poetry can be thought to be for women. It is almost to the point that many men are afraid to create beauty. However, I have seen nothing that stems from campus policy to enforce these ideas in the minds of the male student populations. This may be due to the fact that I often miss things like this since I feel that I am relatively secure in my own masculinity and do not see things as being a threat to my masculinity. But that does not mean that policy does not make certain men feel threatened. I do think that at some institutions, men are expected to play a sport or to be a leader in some fashion, such as president of an organization, or to belong to a fraternity. Community colleges do not typically have a sports team or greek life structure, however there are plenty of organizations to be a part of. At Tarrant County College, I noticed that a large majority of the leaders were women, which would reflect the opposite of the expectations put in place, whether in student organizations or faculty situations. It should be noted that, on larger campuses with sports teams, the "jocks" are often represented as being intellectually inferior to other students and the same can be said for those engaging in greek life. TCC, instead of reinforcing these ideas, seems to be fighting against promoting toxic masculinity, especially for men of color. There is a major program called Men of Color Mentoring that works throughout the district to enable men, whether in high school or having transitioned to college, to be successful in their academic endeavors. While working with them over the summer, I saw that on one of the campuses specifically, the majority of their student body was made up of minorities of black and latino descent. I witnessed countless men of both ethnicities striving for greatness and sitting patiently in the advising office waiting to register for the upcoming fall semester. I did not see people leaving because they were afraid to ask for help. The programs on TCC campuses work relentlessly to ensure that they reach the students on their campuses. I do not believe the TCC model could flourish if they did not handle the men on their campuses in this way, nor would they be making such a massive impact on the surrounding Tarrant County community. I also did not notice anything different between how men of color and white males are addressed on the campuses, whether in media format, relationship format, or in the classroom. I do, however, believe that this can stem from a high level of training for faculty in the areas of cultural sensitivity, which I only got to experience a tiny glimpse of. I think as professionals, this sort of training is what allows a campus to effectively handle a student body that is made up of different cultures and to know when someone is needing help that is not asking for it.