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Aggies for Africa show heart
and sole
By Christy Jensen
October 2, 2007 | LOGAN -- Utah
State University Students bared their soles Friday
to help raise awareness about poverty in Africa,
and donated their shoes to those less fortunate.
Aggies for Africa, a campus club, organized
the all-day event, entitled "Feet First --
Go Barefoot So They Don't Have To -- encouraged
students to walk barefoot for a day to experience
what people in Africa who don't have the luxury
of shoes experience every day. The club also set
up bins around campus so students could donate
any pair of shoes they wanted to be sent to people
in Zambia. |
TOOTSIE PLOPS:
Aggies for Africa show their feet. / Photo
by Christy Jensen |
With the weather OK for bare feet, some students still
showed some apprehension about walking barefoot around
campus all day, whereas others treated it as a daily
routine.
Dan Allan, a student at USU, said, "I was nervous
about doing it [not wearing shoes] when I left my house,
but I sucked it up and thought of the Africans. It was
awkward in the morning because I didn't see any one
with their shoes off but as the day went on everyone
caught on. It was tight."
Aggies for Africa members were outside the TSC for
most of the day handing out stickers with the Feet First
logo on them to those who were participating in Friday's
event. They also encouraged students and faculty to
take their shoes off and walk around barefoot to raise
awareness. Some students politely declined the request
to take their shoes off, and others responded by saying,
"All I have to do is take my shoes off? Sure!"
Cam Davis, a member of Aggies for Africa, said, "This
is a cool way to raise awareness because walking around
campus is taboo and it draws attention to the cause,
and I really enjoy being barefoot."
President of Aggies for Africa Coy Whittier said his
morning commute was cold but became "really sympathetic
because I was feeling what the people in Africa feel
every day."
Whittier estimated that more than 500 shoes had been
donated throughout last week and expects to get close
to the same amount this week from the donation set up
in the Library, Taggart Student Center and Old Main.
Feet First is the first of a series of events that
Aggies for Africa plan for this semester. Their next
event is a benefit concert Oct. 12 with the bands Love
You Long Time and Panima.
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