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‘We should not be daunted’ Students, community Walk a Mile in Her Shoes
Photo by megan thorne | The Shield
After speeches about sexual assualt and gender violence, male audience members walked a mile in bright red high-heels to raise awareness for violence against women and men during the 11th annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” Tuesday evening. Students, professors and community members walked from the UC, past the Orr Center and ended at the College of Liberal Arts, where members of the community, officers and Dean Beeby spoke about their experience walking in the heels, before the participants took a pledge to never “commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.”
by riley guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
In its 11th year, “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” once again attempts to tackle an ongoing issue. The event featured male students, faculty and community members who walked a mile in high heels and pledged to never “commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.”
Also known as the National Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault and Gender Violence, the event was organized by the Sexual Assault and Gender Violence Prevention Group and the Albion Fellows Bacon Center. “This event is communicating that people, particularly men, have the ability to put themselves in survivors shoes, literally and figuratively. It makes people feel they have been
heard, even if they have never come forward about it; it makes them feel like their situation is relatable to others,” President of the Students For Gender Violence Awareness Kiara Perkins said. The Albion Fellows Bacon Center is a local nonprofit agency that works with victims of domestic and sexual violence offering safe shelter, individual counseling, support groups, legal advocacy
and 24 hour response to victims needing to talk, report a crime or seek medical care. According to the organization’s website, they have served 687 primary and secondary victims of sexual assault. The event began with four student speakers presenting information on gender violence. “As a man, I grew up in this world seeing women being trivialized and
treated as sexual objects by men, and I feel that this is rather important that you see me standing here in front of you today,” SGA Representative for the Liberal Arts college Tiye Garrison said to a room of men and women in Carter Hall. “To you women out there, men are the ones who haunt you in your worst nightmares of being victimized and assaulted, but today we are here to show you that we
men are not your enemy. We are here to show that we care about you and that we want to help fight for a cause that is oh so great.” The speeches ended with sophomore criminal justice and journalism major Gabi Wy telling her experiences with sexual assault. Wy, who is also the features editor at The Shield, said she has contemplated suicide five times since she was sexually abused at
Walk a mile, PAGE 4
Empire Contractors awarded PAC construction
Day of Silence to promote bullying awareness by riley guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
photo courtesty of university communications
by riley guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
The Board of Trustees Finance and Audit committee elected to award Evansville construction company Empire Contractors the contract for the renovation of the Physical Activities Center (PAC). “The project is without a doubt going to be a transformational moment for our campus, our students and this community,” Vice President for Finance and Ad-
ministration Steve Bridges said. The construction bid was for Phase I of the PAC renovation, which includes an additional 4,000 seats for a new arena and 5,000 feet of space for the renovation of the kinesiology lab, along with more concession space and the addition of a spirit store. Empire Contractors was the lowest of three construction bids for the PAC renovation. The other two bids came from RiverCity Construction and Weddle
Brothers. The total bid for Phase I from Empire Contractors is $25,690,000, which is a little less than $2 million from the next lowest bidder. State appropriation for Phase I is $16 million. Bridges said they are also using $1.6 million in state funded Rehab and Rehabilitation money for utilities, $2 million in campus store reserves for the spirit store, $1.5 million from food services for concessions, $1.4 million in student fee debt service money and $3 mil-
construction, PAGE 3
After a short hiatus from the university, the national Day of Silence has returned. After a three year absence, the Day of Silence, which intends to bring awareness to the “silencing” effects of anti-LGBT bullying, will be held in Carter Hall Wednesday April 19 from 7-9 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) and the Students For Gender Violence Awareness (SFGVA). The two new organizations have teamed up to collect artwork and art donations from students and community members for a silent auction that will express LGBT bullying. The variety of artwork will include digital prints, paintings and drawings. “We are also wanting to open the mic up to students as well if they want to tell their stories,” SAGA President Kayla Dick said. “A lot of times they might have stories to tell from their high school years, and this can be a platform for them to express them-
selves.” According to the Center for Disease Control, LGBT youth are four times more likely to commit suicide than straight youth. Dick, a junior psychology major, said people usually only recognize the Day of Silence from the people who wear duct tape over their mouth all day. “That’s really all people know about Day of Silence, and even back in highschool I don’t think I knew what Day of Silence was, so we are really trying to remind people why we are having Day of Silence,” she said. Dick said SAGA planned on having a speaker for the event but was not able to get one. National Day of Silence is actually April 21, but Dick said she scheduled it Wednesday because they thought not many people would show up for an event on a Friday. The event is free and open to anyone who wishes to attend, not just university students. “We hope to raise awareness and we also hope to raise some money for SAGA, which will hopefully raise aware-
ness,” SFGVA President Kiara Perkins. “We are also hoping to give people a voice to make them feel heard.” Perkins said the LGBT community is a large focus of their organization, and she hopes to educate people “People are out there getting murdered as a result of this bullying that seems petty; it seems not important, but it’s a societal issue,” she said. Perkins said she is proud of the progress both the organizations have made and she is looking forward to bringing awareness to LGBT bullying. “After the gay marriage decision by the Supreme Court came out, a lot of people think that LGBT people have won and there is nothing else to fight for or talk about, and there are still a lot of things that need to be done,” Dick said. “Bringing awareness about the issues can help these people and being there to support them is something that is really important, and I care about being able to show that USI does support you and we are here for you.”