Women’s Center fights to end sexual assaults against women

Adrian Suarez Avila/ News Director

adrian.suarezavila@fiusm.com

 

Today men will take to the Graham Center Lawns. . .in heels.

In an effort to draw attention to sexual assault, the University’s Women’s Center, alongside the Interfraternity Council, will be hosting an event, titled, “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.”

Jonathan David Cedeño, a senior women and gender studies major, is the head of planning for the event.

As the coordinator, Cedeño’s duties included coordinating who will be speaking at the event, the general logistics of the walk, and the promotion of the event in order to ensure that a large amount of members within the University community attend the event.

According to Cedeño, the target audience is the general University community.

Although he encourages everyone to go, he admits that the event is ideally for men, and specifically to allow them to complete the message that the event’s name communicates: walk a mile in a woman’s shoes.

Although not a mandatory portion of the walk, men will be asked to wear heels as they complete the walk, which will start at the Graham Center Lawns in the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, continue through the Green Library Breezeway, the Graham Center, and finish in the GC Lawns.

Cedeño admits that while women don’t usually walk in the event, several nonetheless attend in order to see the walk and take part in the various activities that take place at the event.

He added that he intends the event to open people’s eyes regarding sexual violence.

“Gender stigmas are still very…apparent in our society and I want people to know that it’s not okay to sweep things under the table,” Cedeño said.

Students shared their thoughts on the event.

“It’s a fun way of drawing attention to an important issue,” said Alessandra Duke, a junior health administration major. “I attended last year and I’m looking forward to seeing what the gentlemen have to put on this year.”

Other students also commented.

“This is the first time I hear about the event and I’m taking time off of my day to attend,” said Lisa Fermin, a junior chemistry major. “It’s awesome that men are leading this effort, and with what happened over the weekend with the sexual assault case I believe it’s perfect timing to have this event and bring to light these conversations that are usually [swept] under the rug.”

The event is just one out of a variety of events hosted throughout the month in order to provide information on sexual assault.

Titled, “Take Back the Night – Under the Same Moon,” the series’ intention is to promote awareness of sexual assault prevention and safety. It also aims to unify women, men and children in an effort to draw attention to these issues.

According to its flyer, the Take Back the Night march and rally provide a forum in which to speak out against the silence that normally isolates survivors and hinders the healing process.

Cedeño mentioned that when dealing with topics such as sexual assault and other forms of violence, people are oftentimes uncomfortable with the discussion and just stay quiet about the issues.

When dealing with men, particularly those who have large egos, it’s sometimes evident that they don’t feel comfortable with stepping out of their comfort zones and examining issues through a new perspective, said Cedeño.

He added that men need to know what it’s like to face the issues that women normally face on a day-to-day basis.

According to him, the University’s Interfraternity Council will require that 25 percent of the members in each respective social fraternity overseen by the IFC be present at the event.

The fraternities that do not meet the 25 percent attendance rate will be fined.

Regarding the fact that the IFC is one of the sponsors of the event, Cedeño commented that he believes the council wants to demonstrate to the University community that men do care about the issues concerning women.

“Men do want to shed light on this,” Cedeño said.

The event will take place today, in the Graham Center Lawns in the Modesto A. Maidique Campus from 2 to 4 p.m.

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