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Hills in heels goes the extra
mile for SAAVI
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By Jessica
Prado
April 21, 2008 | You may not know a man named
Doug Hills, but you may be seeing Hills in heels
at Cache Valley coffee shops, such as Citrus and
Sage, Starbucks and Borders, during April, a nationally
designated month for sexual assault awareness.
Hills, 32, originally from upstate New York
and a Logan resident since 2002, has set out to
spread awareness and raise money to help prevent
sexual assault and domestic violence after accepting
a challenge from his wife, Stacey Hills, a professor
in the business administration department at Utah
State University.
Stacey, after receiving a faculty email announcement
for the return of "Walk-a-Mile-In-Her-Shoes,"
an annual event that is held in order to raise
money for both the Sexual Assault & Anti-Violence
Information office along with the One-in-Four
Chapter, a USU all-male peer-education group devoted
to educating men about rape and sexual assault,
saw an opportunity for her husband to see how
it feels to have to wear high-heels all day and
hoped to gain "a little sympathy" from him.
"She says, 'Well, I don't think you're tough
enough to do it anyway,' Hills said, "There's
always that part in a guy's head whenever someone
says, 'Oh, you can't do it, you're not tough enough,'
it's like . . . yes I can and I can do it better
than you."
Later, Stacey came home to find that Hills had
"upped the ante" just to make a point that walking
in heels is easy. |
THREE
INCHES TALLER: Doug Hills models his high
heels. / Photo by Jessica Prado
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Hills said he not only would participate
in the "Walk-a-Mile" event on campus, held April 9,
but he would also wear the high-heels an extra day for
every $20 in donations he raised. Hills agreed to let
Stacey "set the rules," which consisted of a pair of
black stiletto boots along with an alternate pair of
heels that he must wear during regular business hours
Monday through Friday.
The Hills' childcare providers were the first group
of people to hear about his plan and word spread quickly
from there to the coffee shops that Hills hangs out
at regularly.
Hills' pals at Borders put up a sign that said, "Do
you want to see Doug Hills suffer in stilettos?" which
resulted in $180 in funds.
"One of the girls who saw that came up to me and wanted
to know what this was all about," Hills said.
That same girl set up another donation site at a local
chiropractor's office where an additional amount of
$140 was raised for SAAVI and the One-in-Four Chapter.
"I honestly did not expect this kind of a turn out,"
Hills said.
"Do something silly for fundraising and you'll always
get support," Stacey said.
Hills supposed he would get a few chuckles or maybe
some $5-10 donations, "But I was getting twenties, mostly
from girls with a vendetta," Hills said.
Hills has not had any previous involvement with charity
work, although his wife has, but after researching SAAVI
and the other organizations surrounding it Hills decided
that sexual assault awareness was a cause worth the
mental challenge.
"Even if no one is looking at me, there's that thought
in the back of my head like everyone is looking at me,"
Hills said.
After completing a test run a couple weeks ago in
his high-heeled boots, Hills soon realized that he needed
some mental support, which is one of the reasons he
plans to stick to his favorite hang-outs, and so that
the people who know him can help explain what his purpose
is and hand out pamphlets.
"It's going to be easier to walk around when [Stacey]
is with me because by myself…I felt extremely vulnerable
and naked."
Hills related those feelings to victims of sexual
abuse and domestic violence, "I'm walking a mile to
understand the pain of walking in high-heels, but mentally
I am understanding what it feels like to be a victim.
It's maybe a small way, but it's that insecurity, that
vulnerability," Hills said.
Wednesday, Apr. 9, USU was covered with orange cones
and men in high-heeled shoes, Hills included, to rally
support for the campus organizations and for the sake
of awareness.
Stacey participated in "Walk-a-Mile" as a blister
sister and escorted Hills on his walk around campus.
Also there to support Hills on his walk was a family
friend, Gretchen Strange, 27, a student teacher at Mt.
Logan Middle School, who feels strongly about the SAAVI
cause, "because I have some experience with it," Strange
said.
"You don't think about [sexual assault] until you're
right there in the situation and it's happening," Strange
said.
Strange sees sexual assault awareness as a community
issue because she works with seventh-graders on a daily
basis and has heard "through the grapevine of students
who will go hang out at college parties."
"So, I think it's absolutely ridiculous to make it
just a college thing," Strange said, "I don't think
people realize the statistics. I mean, one in four [college
women have survived rape or attempted rape], that's
a lot…there's two of us sitting right here."
Strange said that the statistic is too high and that
she wonders how much of it is due to merely a lack of
awareness on the issue of sexual assault.
Some USU students and faculty agree that the SAAVI
cause deserves more community-wide attention.
"This is one of those organizations where they just
don't get enough money through the regular system,"
said Stacey, who is a member of the USU faculty.
"It is a good cause," said Mike Hutchinson, a student
and Pi Kappa Alpha who got involved with "Walk-a-Mile"
one year ago.
Hutchinson said that he hopes to see more support
for sexual assault awareness and has contributed as
much as he can on his own by watching out for aggressive
guys, "whether it be at a party or another function."
"I just kind of watch the flow of things," Hutchinson
said, "If someone needs to go I'm usually standing there
ready to kick him out of a party."
"When men publicly stand up and show their commitment,
their actions encourage other men to start thinking
about how they personally can do their part to end violence,"
said Rachel Brighton, SAAVI coordinator.
"Something like what Doug is doing is going to make
[SAAVI] a lot more visible. . . . It'll do a lot to
open doors for sure…he's also out in the community,
and so he is bringing in outside awareness," Strange
said.
At the conclusion of Walk-a-Mile 2008 Doug Hills was
awarded a plaque for most money raised.
Hills said that donations have "slowed to a trickle"
since he announced that he does not plan to continue
wearing his shoes after May 1, but he will still be
accepting donations at Borders and Citrus and Sage on
behalf of the USU SAAVI office and Four-in-One Chapter.
As for the "Walk-a-Mile" event itself, many students
participate every year and the number of participants
rises each year.
Hills hopes to get more non-student members of the
Logan community involved by setting the example and
spreading the information around the community.
MEN IN HEELS: Walkers
make a statement April 9. / Photo by Jessica Prado
MS
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