Walking a mile on the Quad is a no-brainer to most people. But walking the mile in a pair of Manolo Blahniks is a different story.

This Friday at 5 p.m., men at the University of Illinois will have the opportunity to brave their soles and walk around the Quad in high heels for the fourth annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.

“The goal of the event is to raise awareness about sexual assault in the Champaign community,” said Courtney Cheatham, junior in LAS and vice president of public relations for Panhellenic Council (PHC). “We have the guys walk around in heels to see what it feels like to be a woman in these situations.”

Cheatham said that while the event has been more about raising awareness about sexual assault, she decided to do something different this year.

“In the past, we haven’t raised any money for the cause and wanted to increase the publicity about it, so we thought the fundraiser was a good idea,” she said.

Dylan Herman, junior in Engineering and vice president of risk management for Interfraternity Council (IFC), said he was excited about bringing a philanthropic aspect to the event.

“We really want to get the message out there and raise awareness, which was why we decided to host a fundraiser and make individuals on campus more aware of the Crisis Center itself,” Herman said.

Herman said the event occurs all over the country, and he hopes to have more people attend this year.

“We had more than 500 people attend the event, which was a huge success,” he said. “We hope to get between 200 and 300 guys to participate, and as many people as we can to come out and support them.”

Cheatham said the event is something everyone looks forward to all year.

“It’s not just for members of the Greek community,” she said. “Anyone can come out and root for the guys by making signs and banners. And it’s not just guys in fraternities that walk the mile. Any guy can participate.”

Herman said the title of the event may be a bit misleading to men who may be wary of participating.

“Guys are not actually walking a mile on the Quad,” he said. “It’s more like one big lap around the main area.”

Ashley Hummel, junior in AHS and vice president of risk management for PHC, said she hopes the event will be empowering.

“I‘m excited for all of the male participants,” she said. “They are doing more than walking around the Quad in women’s heels, but also taking a stand against an issue that often strikes on college campuses.”

Cheatham said the shoes for the event are borrowed from Illinois State University.

“They (Illinois State) host the same event raising money for the same cause, and we asked them to borrow the shoes they use for the event,” she said. “We decided that instead of buying new shoes, the donations we make from the fundraiser would go to the cause.”

Rhea Abel, sophomore in Business and member of Alpha Omicron Pi, said she’s excited to see the guys in their heels.

“I went to the event last year, and it was really funny to see the guys try to balance themselves in heels,” she said. “It’s really cool to see people support them and cheer them on. The guys get really into it.”

Cheatham said she hopes to raise even more awareness this year, especially because of the amount of Crime Alerts last semester.

“With all of the notifications about the Crime Alerts we got last semester, it is really crucial for us to get the message out,” she said. “We are here for each other in any way and want to help out the campus community.”

After the event on Friday, a Pita Pit fundraiser will take place Monday, May 4 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Rape Crisis Center in Champaign.

“We wanted to do more for the cause and encourage students to support the U of I campus,” Cheatham said. “We want to help the men and women from the Champaign area to support survivors and people who have gone through this and tell them that they are not alone.”

In addition to the main event, Jesse Pierce, a member of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, will speak about men’s roles in ending sexual violence.

“It is literally about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes to show your support (for sexual violence awareness),” Herman said. “We want people to realize that it is more common than what most males expect.”