Students, faculty, staff and members of the High Country community join together for the 2015 Walk for Awareness, a silent walk through Appalachian State University’s campus to commemorate lives lost to violence and support victims and survivors of violence. Photo by Marie Freeman.
BOONE—The 27th Annual Walk for Awareness, a silent walk through the Appalachian State University campus to commemorate lives lost to violence, will take place at 9 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 30. This event, which is open to the public, begins at Sanford Mall and ends at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts.
The Walk for Awareness is part of the university’s Health, Wellness and Safety Week, which will take place from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. The walk began in 1990 after the abduction and murder of a university employee. The event commemorates lives lost to violence, supports victims and survivors of violence, and serves as a collective moment of empowerment and a call to action to prevent all forms of interpersonal violence.
“Over the years, the Walk for Awareness has transitioned and has become a university legacy event calling on our community to be violence free,” said Judith Haas, associate dean of students.
Prior to the walk, the video “Why Walk? A Survivor’s Story” will be shown at 8 p.m. in Room 114 of Belk Library and Information Commons. Thereafter, participants will gather at Sanford Mall for a brief ceremony. Before the walk begins, Chancellor Sheri N. Everts and John Weaver, director of Track and Cross Country, will speak.
The event’s featured speaker is Lauren White Marvel, an assistant district attorney for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Ellen Grulke, the university’s interpersonal violence support and prevention coordinator, will close the event at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts.
Music for the event will be provided by Pressley Laton as well as acapella groups Enharmonix and Higher Ground.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
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