On Wednesday, in an attempt to make more students mindful of violence against women, UB hosted the fourth annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. The men in attendance donned high heels and marched proudly against sexual assault.
The UB Men's Group organized the event this year, as opposed to previous years when SBI handled the occasion. According to Evan Holt, a Men's Group leader and former life editor at The Spectrum, the decision to pass the reins was based on the group's ability to draw more men to the event.
"It means so much more if men speak up because males' voices are so under-represented in this department," Holt said. "Most men do not know how much power they have to combat sexual assault."
According to Holt, since Walk a Mile's first year on campus, the number of men in attendance has steadily increased. With the Men's Group taking over, one of the event's main goals has been to get men to step out of their comfort zone, even if only for a moment.
"There is plenty of room for onlookers to make fun of what we are doing," Holt said. "But in the end, we hope that the education we provide will teach people what it is all for."
The Men's Group uses the attention drawn from the initial shock of watching men march in high heels to teach people what they can do to counteract sexual violence.
"We theoretically have the tools to help end rape," Holt said. "Women alone cannot combat it."
UB offers a course called Intro to Peer Education (UBE 110), in which students study how the media and commercialism in general ingrains certain sexual stereotypes into the heads of both men and women. The class satisfies part of the minor in Health and Wellness education.
According to Kayla Maryles, a junior communication major, the turnout for the walk was successful. A lot of the men didn't wear heels, but their support was still appreciated.
"A lot of people feel they need to be an activist, but it's quite the opposite," Maryles said. "You don't have to define yourself as an activist in order to go out and show support for this kind of cause on a campus like UB."
Those involved in this year's marching event listened to speeches and walked in heels for as long as a half hour.
"My feet hurt so badly," Holt said. "We just aren't used to it, but it is good to get a sense for what it might be like for a woman."
Dennis Black, vice president of Student Affairs, was also at the event, borrowing a pair of black heels with rhinestones to show his support of the cause. He gave a speech at the event, which focused on the changes that need to be made with regard to sexual violence.
"The crowd there was a crowd of believers. They got the message before the event began," Black said. "It is most important that the outsiders see what we are doing to end violence."
According to Black, the event was valuable in the way that it helped people experience something they normally don't. This was also one of the main points of his speech.
"I spoke about how this experience can change you to become better. It can change you in a way that leads you to help others and it can change you forever," Black said.
Holt hopes that in the years to come, The Men's Group will get more and more students, especially males, to come out and hear their message.
"This is primarily known as a woman's issue," Holt said. "We want it to become a man's issue as well."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
