Men on campus gathered to walk a mile in red high heels during WKU’s 9th annual “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” on Wednesday.

The event was one of several planned events for the WKU Counseling Center’s Sexual Assault Prevention Month series. It started in Centennial Mall, where two individual groups of fraternity members started their trek up Normal Street, to Cherry Hall and then back down the hill.

The event was open to all fraternities and was designed to raise money and awareness for Hope Harbor, Inc., a sexual trauma recovery center in Bowling Green.

“It’s a fun way to get people to start talking about things like sexual violence, which can be a really tough subject,” Elizabeth Madariaga, sexual assault services coordinator, said about the event.

Dixon, Tenn. junior Chase Rampaul is a member of WKU’s Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity chapter. Carpenter said he wanted to participate in “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes” to support Hope Harbor, the local philanthropy for his chapter.

“I wanted to try and get involved,” Rampaul said.

Shelbyville sophomore David Weafir and Phi Gamma Delta member also participated in this year’s walk. Weafir said he has seen girls wear heels at formal events for his fraternity and has never experienced that himself.

“It’ll be a fun experience,” Weafir said. “This isn’t an opportunity that comes around very often.”

Owensboro freshman Ben Bets is also a member of Phi Gamma Delta, and he said he wanted to gain a new perspective by walking in the event.

“Girls definitely go through more hardships than us,” Bets said, waiting to start his walk. “This will be a good perspective.”

The next event in the Counseling Center’s Sexual Assault Prevention Month series includes “This is What an Advocate Looks Like” Thursday at 5 p.m.

News reporter Nicole Ziege can be reached at 270-745-6011 and [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @NicoleZiege.