T h u r s d a y, A P R I L 1 4 , 2 0 1 6 | U s i s h i e l d . c o m | v o l . 4 6 i s s u e 2 9
STEPPING OUT Nearly 500 attend annual awareness event
by abigail suddarth acsuddarth@eagles.usi.edu Ellen Cooper didn’t think she would make it through middle school, let alone high school. After being raped when she was 13-years-old, she became depressed and thought she would eventually commit suicide. Today, she is a junior English major in the Honors College who has made the Dean’s List every semester of college and writes opinions for The Shield. Most importantly though, she is happy, she said. Cooper was the keynote speaker at the university’s 10th annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, which was designed to raise awareness about sexual assault and domestic violence, Tuesday afternoon in Carter Hall. After her rape, Cooper said she stopped eating and doing her schoolwork. “I stopped practicing my violin,” she said. “I went from being second chair in the orchestra to being in the very last row.” Cooper began drinking, smoking, doing drugs, experimenting sexually and self-harming. “I would take long showers where I would sit there and let the water run over me so hot that it would burn my skin and left it red and blotchy,” she said. “I just wanted to feel clean.” Cooper said she hated herself and saw no point in her existence. “I would often tell people that I had no soul because the rape had taken it from me,” she said. Eventually, Cooper said, she found healing in therapy, friend and family support, and spirituality. “I realized that I no longer had to feel ashamed because I had nothing to feel ashamed of,” she said. “I felt free for the first time in a very long time.” Even though she is better, Cooper said she is still affected by her rape. Because Cooper is aware she’s afraid to let people get close to her, she said, she’s able to combat it and has had several healthy romantic relationships. “I have not harmed myself in four years,” she said. “There have been times when I’ve sat on the floor of my apartment sobbing, wailing as I resist the urge to hurt myself to make myself feel better. But by the grace of God, I have resisted.” Cooper told audience members that hadn’t been sexually assaulted have a responsibility to advocate for those who had and learn about bystander intervention. “To my fellow survivors, you are strong,” she said. “Remember that you are not alone in your suffering.” She encouraged survivors to reach out to friends and family and seek counseling. “It does not mean that you are weak,” she said. “It means that you are bravely fighting for your life and you are worth saving.”
Photo by angela moore | The Shield
Incoming SGA President Ashley Wright hugs Jason Minor, SGA chief justice, during the annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event Tuesday at the University Center Amphitheatre. “The event hit closer to home than expected,” Wright said.
walk a mile, PAGE 4
Wright named SGA President by nick leighty ndleighty@eagles.usi.edu Growing up, Ashley Wright thought about becoming a lawyer. Now, she plans on becoming a lobbyist. T h i s change in career goals led her to her new position as Student Government Association Wright president. The SGA executive office election ended April 1, with all positions uncontested. Wright will be inaugurated Thursday and will assume her duties April 21. As a sophomore accounting major, Wright planned to run for vice president and wait to run for president until her senior year. However, when the person who planned to run for president could not, Wright stepped up to fill the role. “It was two days before election packets were due and I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it,’” Wright said. During each U.S. presidential debate, Wright and her uncle would turn on the television and have their own debate.
SpringFest acts please, weather disappoints
Both Wright’s mother and grandmother served on her hometown school board — her mother as president and her grandmother as a recorder for the meetings. Wright wanted to become part of her high school student council, but could not because of her involvement with other activities. When she arrived at the university her freshman year, Wright had friends in SGA that wanted her to join and became involved. After getting more adjusted to college life, SGA pulled her in even more. She finally decided to run for office Feb. 22. “(The desire) was always there, I just needed to have a little bit of a push,” Wright said. “I think that’s almost for any organization, you got to have a little push to try something new.” Wright ran the Student Government Coalition Conference during her first year in SGA, which brought together student governments from around the Tri-State. “It was a huge thing for me. I realized that a little thing can be something big,” Wright said. “I probably looked nuts and crazy making sure everything was running right, but it was definitely worth it.”
2016 - 2017 EDITION OF
by Megan thorne features@usishield.com @ShieldsterMegan A softball hit Drew Lynch in the throat at age 20, causing him to develop a permanent stutter. The aspiring actor’s dreams of starring in “Mad Men” or “How I Met Your Mother” went down the drain. “After my accident, they all dropped me,” he said. “They all just said come back when you’re better, and I never went back, because I’m not better.” Lynch took his adversity and turned it into comedy. Students cheered Wednesday night as Lynch performed his latest comedy act in Carter Hall during SpringFest. SpringFest is an annual campus-wide celebration of warmer weather that historically featured one main concert with a headlining band for students to attend. However, from April 6 to 8, this year’s SpringFest featured smaller performances such as country artist Emily Earle, magician Mike Super and an after party with three
Photo by alyssa smith | The Shield
Instructor in the Intensive English Program Lisa Chamberlin gets a first look at “The Little Mermaid” inspired balloon art made by Flower Clown of the Something Fun and Different Entertainment Company Wednesday in University Center East. Balloon artists were one of the first attractions to kick off the annual SpringFest celebration.
Electronic DJ’s.
Dance
Music
‘A different experience’ Dylann Negron, a computer science major, said this was his second SpringFest at the university. “Last year, I wasn’t actually able to make it to the
big event at the end of the week,” he said. “But this time, they have three different main events at the end of the night, which makes it more available for everyone else to go to.” While the three performances went on without major setbacks, inclement
weather prevented outdoor events from happening, such as the inflatables and hot air balloon rides. Senior Alex Hoffmann, co-director of SpringFest, said the committee hopes to reschedule the two events for later in the month.
Springfest, PAGE 5
wright, PAGE 3
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