The high heels may have been absent, but that didn’t lessen the impact of the nearly 100 students and faculty who walked a mile to raise awareness about violence against women at Franklin Pierce University on Thursday afternoon.
As a part of Walk a Mile in Her Shoes: The International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence, students and faculty gathered in FPU’s library courtyard and walked a mile around the campus, led by a two students holding a sign with a big red high heel on it.
“I think it’s good to show the community that we are a unified campus against these issues,” said senior Dante Marovelli before the walk.
“I’m out here because I’ve been affected by domestic violence,” said freshman Brittany Oliveira. “I want everyone to know that they aren’t alone.”
This is the second time that the campus has participated in the walk, according to Rob Koch, one of the event organizers.
“No woman is safe until we all are safe,” said Koch, before the walk kicked off. “Our collective presence here today says it’s not OK. Together, we say no to violence against women.”
According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), someone is raped in America every two minutes, with one in six American women having been a victim of sexual assault.
College campuses are not immune to the societal issue, as 11.2 percent of all college students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. Among the undergraduate population, 23.1 percent of females and 5.4 percent of males experience rape or sexual assault, according to RAINN.
“This is such an issue across the country,” said senior Bryan Tranfaglia. “I don’t know if it happens here as much as some of the larger colleges, but we are out here nonetheless to acknowledge that we are against it.”
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.