It is an exciting time to be on Mercyhurst’s campus. As the frigid temperatures begin to break and a sense of the coming spring creeps into every student’s mind, it is easy to get excited.
Spring is a time where students can meander outdoors without the fear of the wind whipping their face with a frosty sting. During the spring we can see students reading outdoors, playing with a Frisbee and hear the loud whistles of our Laker sports teams practicing on the football field. While the spring is an exciting time, it is also an incredibly important time.
Every April, we as a nation observe Sexual Assault Awareness month. During April, organizations, colleges, clubs and communities emphasize various ways to enlighten the public on sexual violence as a human rights, social justice, and public health issue.
Primarily, these programs reinforce various prevention efforts. Mercyhurst University is no exception, and there are a variety of clubs on campus that focus on bringing justice and equality to our campus and the greater Erie area.
The Mercyhurst Equality of Women Club is one such club. Our club’s main event every year is Walk a Mile In Her Shoes event. Walk a Mile is a nation-wide event that quite literally puts men in women’s shoes and has them walk a mile. It is a light-hearted event that raises awareness about the seriousness of sexual assault, its causes, effects and ramifications.
My mom always told me growing up, “You can’t truly understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” By having men playfully walk in high heels, it gives them a safe area to discuss sexual assault in a healthy, helpful way. Having open conversations about sexual assault can only help to bring attention to the various ways to help exterminate this issue plaguing the country, and more specifically, our college campuses.
This is a large task for just one club at Mercyhurst. We have teamed up with the Justice Coalition Club and are hoping to bring in more clubs. If sexual assault awareness is an issue that your club finds important and they would like to join us in creating a fun event, please contact me for further information at njosep47@lakers.mercyhurst.edu. The more participation, the better!
Another important aspect to the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is… shoes. High heels to be more specific. We are looking for high heel donations that we could use for this event. The more heels we have, the more men will be able to walk together through the mile. After the Walk a Mile event, the shoes will be donated to the Dress for Success Erie location.
Finally, as a way to raise money to put on this event, we are selling Mercyhurst Equality of Women t-shirts. The t-shirts are being sold for $17 online. The link to the shirt can be found on our club Facebook, or if you email me and I can send you the link. Any money raised that does not go towards the Walk A Mile event will be donated to a local women’s organization in Erie.