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| Annual Walk for Awareness sparks
debate from NOW |
April Klaassen
Staff Writer
Multicultural Beat |
Monica Geraci | The Appalachian
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The silent walk included
in the Annual Walk for Awareness activities was met with opposition
last Tuesday night, but some students and faculty said they still
feel the walk serves a purpose.
Members of the Appalachian State University National
Organization for Women (NOW) and the Boone area NOW protested the
walk because they believe the forced silence reinforces the pressure
women feel to keep quiet about being sexually assaulted, according
to a Sept. 3 press release. |
The walk began in 1990
to honor the memory of staff member Jeni Gray, who was raped and
murdered by a man in Boone, and to honor former Appalachian student
Leigh Cooper Wallace, who was raped by the same man.
The walk now serves multiple purposes.
“Now, it’s become not only an honor [of Gray and Wallace],
but a message and chance to reflect on violence and how we can become
prey and how we can prevent it,” said Dr. Denise M. Lovin,
psychologist with the Counseling Center and facilitator of the walk.
According to their press release, members of NOW protested the walk
due to statistics showing the number of unreported rapes that occur
at Appalachian State.
During the past 11 years, 12 cases of rape were reported to the
Appalachian State University Police, according to the police department’s
documents. However, one out of every seven women at Appalachian
State are victims of rape or attempted rape while students at the
university, according to a study conducted last semester by the
Committee for Integrity at Appalachian. The study also shows that
only 5 percent of these victims report it to the police.
Some students say they feel the walk is still purposeful, despite
the statistics.
“It upsets me that it hasn’t changed, but I still think
that it’s an honoring tradition,” said Erin M. Clonch,
a senior social work major who attended last Tuesday’s walk.
“They honor those who had to go through things like rape and
I still believe it makes you more aware that it could happen to
you.”
Lovin said the silence touches students.
“Plenty of students are surprised by how touched they are,”
said Lovin. “It is moving to be a part of. It provides the
experience for 3,000 people to take the time out and connect.”
Dr. Eva M. Hyatt, faculty advisor for NOW, said she and the members
of NOW believe the silence of the walk does not seriously deal with
the problem of sexual assault.
“I’m sure it has [touched] some people. For some people,
it pissed them off,” said Hyatt. “If it’s going to
be a silent memorial walk, that’s what it should be. It’s
an opportunity to speak out against the problem. Rape is not anything
to be quiet about.”
This year’s walk, titled “Our Journey Together,”
not only centered on sexual assault, but also on being respectful
toward others, said Lovin.
Speakers at this year’s walk included Chancellor Francis T.
Borkowski; Reverend Thomas O’neill Nixon; Sabrina Garcia, a
sexual assault and domestic violence specialist with the Chapel
Hill Police Department; Lovin; and students Tiffany L. Cole and
Justin R. Farmer.
Borkowki and Lovin spoke about respecting others while Nixon challenged
the crowd to reach out to everyone with the Biblical parable of
the Good Samaritan. Borkowski, Garcia and Nixon encouraged the crowd
to speak out against violence and disrespect. |
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