The Walk a Mile in Her shoes event Wednesday afternoon at University Green brought not only students and faculty from the Ball State community to participate, but also public officials such as the Muncie mayor and members of the fire and police departments.
Lt. Allen Williams from the Muncie Police Department staggered down McKinley Avenue on bright red heels along with a group of male students. However, as painful and difficult the activity was for him, Williams said he was glad to be involved for once in a positive event dealing with sexual assault.
"Considering why we were there it wasn't a problem at all, because this is for a good cause so we all said that to ourselves as well," he said. "I've [worked as a police officer] for 22 years and most of the stuff we deal with quite honestly is the bad side. What we see, the fights and the domestic abuse, so it's nice being involved in something that's positive."
Williams also got his nail painted as part of Operation Jungle Red, an event that seeks to raise awareness and stop violence against women. He said he liked participating in these activities to show he was not only a law enforcer but also a member of the community.
"It shows we are not out of touch with what's going on, and it gives us a chance to interact with people like in today's event," he said. "I think it surprised some people that we were there, like, 'Wow, they're there in uniform participating, which is pretty cool,' so I think we got a good reception from them as well."
Mayor Dennis Tyler participated by getting his nail painted at the Scramble Light. For Tyler, the cause is tied to his personal life in several ways, he said.
"I watched my mother go through it, and it's just very sad that we have a society in which that goes on," he said. "We have a very violent society for whatever the reason is today, and it's heart wrenching when you think about it."
Tyler was also a firefighter for more than 40 years, dealing with first response calls regularly.
"We see it first hand every day in that part of our lives, so we know the importance of programs like that help prevent it," he said. "I think that's why you see such a good response from public safety. As well as political figures who have to deal with these issues in other ways."
Tyler said the simplicity of the activity and the fact that it was coordinated by students demonstrated the enthusiasm of the community in raising awareness of issued that concern the city as a whole.
"It's important to see them giving back to the community," he said. "Many times people who are outside the Ball State community don't realize the involvement that these students have, so it's a great opportunity to see them giving back."
The attendance of the mayor, some police officers and the Muncie fire chief gave off a good impression not only to students participating, but also to members of Jungle Red, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes and Ball State victim advocate at Michele Cole.
"I'm so impressed that they took some time off of their busy schedules and that they would recognize that it's a problem and that they're standing up and taking a stance against violence against women," Cole said. "It just shows the caliber of leaders that we have in this community."
Williams also decided to participate to support his daughter, Brittney Williams. The junior public relations major was one of the students in the Leadership Communication class in charge of organizing Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. Williams said he tries to participate in many events his daughter coordinates.
"I think sometimes we forget about [the positive side] as a community and as police officers," he said. "We are used to dealing with all the trouble and the bad people but there is a lot of good people around that actually is doing some good here and raising awareness."
Though the presence of a fully uniformed police officer in red heels caught the attention of many at the event, Williams said he just wants to be a positive influence on people in the community.
"I'm just like anybody else, I have a family, a couple daughters," he said. "I don't think we're any more special than anybody else, and sometimes people might separate police officers from anybody else, like there's a wall between us, but that's not that case. We're here to help in any way we can."
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