GVSU hosts men against violence event in Allendale
Last night about 150 GVSU students, faculty and staff gathered on the Allendale campus to take a stand against sexual assault, sexual coercion and rape.
The event, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, is an international event designed to get men to think about the reality that women face everyday in terms of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape by men.
The male students who attended last night event were invited to wear high heel shoes and walk a mile on campus as a means to sensitize them to the difficulties of being a woman in a male dominant society.
Before the students went on that walk they were presented with some information about the realities of living in what feminist Diana H. Russell calls a “rape culture.” According to data from a national fraternity association that has taken a stand against sexual assault:
- 1 out of 4 college women are sexually assaulted
- 50% of sorority women experience some form of sexual coercion
- 10.3% of college rapes happen in a fraternity house
- 90% of sorority women who are sexually assaulted know their assailants
Students were told that men are so privileged that they are generally unaware of these facts and the reality that their fellow female classmates, teachers and girlfriends face on a daily basis.
The students then walked around on all 3 floors of the Kirkof building since the weather did not permit them to walk outside as they had originally intended. Other students witnessed the men walking in high heel shoes and holding signs address sexual assault and this writer witnessed numerous students engaging those walking in conversation about the purpose of the event.
When the students returned to the room where the event began they were presented with more information on how we are all socialized to objectify women, especially through the dominant culture represented in media. Students looked at and discussed media representation of women in magazine ads, TV commercials and movie clips, in order to understand how objectification of women is normalized in media.
Part of the purpose of the event was to start a men’s group on campus to take a stand against violence. Some of the men involved in this event and the GVSU Women’s Center are planning other activities and opportunities for men to become involved. If you are a male student at GVSU and are interested, contact MarcQus Wright at wrighmar@gvsu.edu or call 616-331-4296.
After the event was over I had a chance to interview two of the men involved in organizing Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 
Walk a mile in her shoes? What a joke! How about a men’s march against false rape accusations? Regret is not rape…and all too often, women think it is.
SHUT UP.
This is the most offensive load of crap I have seen in a long time.
So not only do you minimize the reality of how often men in this culture rape women, you demonstrate your arrogant male privilege by make an absurd and misogynistic claim. Sexual assault and rape of women by men is no joke.
Wow. Talk about ugly denial. One of the disadvantages of living in a so-called “Christian” community is the insistence of the radical right-wing head trips that women “ask for it,” a la Eve in the Garden of Eden.
I think this event, and the men who attended it, are to be commended.