Walk A Mile in Her Shoes Set for April 18

“Walk A Mile in Her Shoes” is an event organized by the Blackburn Center. The event starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 18 at St. Clair Park in Greensburg. The purpose of the walk is to raise awareness in the community on the issue of gender-based violence.

Dr. Sheila Confer, humanities and fine arts professor at Pitt-Greensburg, spoke about the reason behind the walk and who the Pitt-Greensburg team walks in honor of. Alina Sheykhet, who was a Pitt-Greensburg student, was murdered by her boyfriend in 2017. Ever since then, the Pitt-Greensburg team walks in her honor.

“[The walk] gives people actionable steps that they can take to address what we call ‘the root causes’ of gender-based violence, which is harder to think about,” said Confer. “So, those kinds of societal issues that impact the culture, that make it more acceptable for this violence to continue. Things like misogyny, homophobia, and discrimination.”

Men are especially encouraged to walk during this event, and are encouraged to wear red high heeled shoes while doing it.

“One of the things that’s unique about this program is that the only people who speak at this program are men,” said Confer. “So, it really is intended to be a men’s walk, so we always try to get as many men there as possible since this work is usually heavily dominated by women, because it’s seen as only a women’s issue.”

At the event, there will be coffee and donuts provided, interactive education stations on the amphitheater stage, a photo booth, and a DJ.

Students’ costs to participate will be covered by the school when you sign up to join Pitt’s team using this link. For more information about the event, visit the Blackburn Center here. Registration will be open up until an hour and a half before the event starts.