Recently at Ball State University, there have been rumors of creating a so-called "Ass-Slapping" day — a day where if men wanted to slap a woman's butt, they could justifiably do so without consequences.
With events like this, it makes it seem as if every woman can be sexually assaulted because some man thinks it's funny to touch her body. That little bubble of space that everyone is supposed to have is thrown out the window.
In contrast, a Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event was held Wednesday at Ball State. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is an international event and fundraiser against rape, sexual assault and gender abuse.
During the event, men put on women's high heel shoes and walk a mile to feel a tiny fraction of the pain that a sexually assaulted woman goes through and to show their support against sexual assault. There were also discussions held discussing rape.
When a Walk a Mile event was held at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, $8,500 was raised. One male student told the student newspaper he doesn't have to have been assaulted to be affected by it.
A Department of Justice report says nearly one in every five women will be sexually assaulted during her time in college. If you are hanging out with a group of your girlfriends, you can bet that at least one of them has been a victim of sexual assault.
"Sexual assault is a big deal," Lesley Schroeder, a student peer victim advocate at Ball State, said.
Scarier still, most women know their attackers.
There is a common misconception that it's only rape if you didn't know the person — that if someone didn't grab you while you were walking down the street, pull you into an alley and rape you, then it isn't a "real" rape.
That's probably why so many women don't speak up for themselves when men they know rape them. They may feel, because they know the person, that people will take their rape story less seriously.
It's not fun to have someone touch you and force you into something when you don't want to. I'm sick of men making ignorant statements about how the woman was teasing them or leading them on, so they think they have the right to go ahead and do what they want. Just because a woman flirts and bats her eyelashes doesn't mean she's obligated to do anything sexual with a man.
On a sicker note, I'm tired of men giving the line that the woman wanted them to touch them so they went with their sexual instincts and did whatever they wanted to the woman. Nobody has the right to say a person wants anything.
I'm not being an aggressive feminist; I'm arguing people should respect other people. Respect comes with the fact that you don't touch another human being without consent. Period.
At the end of the day, the only thing in the world anybody owns or has control of is their body. All your material items, such as cars, televisions, laptops, coffee machines, iPods, headphones, your clothes and even your freedom can be taken away in a second. After all that is gone, the only thing you own, that is truly yours, is your body. If your body is really the only thing you can have complete control over, it's another person touching, violating, groping, assaulting or raping your most prized possession.
Sexual assault goes both ways and can happen to men, too. Both men and women need their stories told so sexual assault will stop.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes makes a clear statement. Now that statement needs to be heard across Ball State, so events like "Ass-Slapping Wednesday" aren't even an option on any university campus.
Read More
9-1-1 What's Your Hot Take E9: Favorite Episodes
By Willow Emig and Sam Jasionowski / 7 hours agoIn this episode of 9-1-1 What’s Your Hot Take, Sam and Willow discuss their favorite episodes of 9-1-1.
Point-by-point evaluation for Poole & Large’s student government administration
By Shelby Anderson / 7 hours agoFor the 2024-25 academic year, the Poole & Large administration was led by President Noah Poole and Vice President Brenna Large. The Daily News completed its yearly evaluation of how the administration delivered on its promises.
Our view: Evaluating the Poole & Large Student Government Administration – Did They ‘Elevate’?
By Shelby Anderson / 7 hours agoAs we review the SGA Executive Board this year, let’s look back at what happened during Poole and Large’s administration.
