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27th Annual Walk for Awareness Slated for Aug. 30 at Appalachian State University

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Students and fellow participants complete the 2015 Walk for Awareness, a silent walk through Appalachian State University’s campus to commemorate lives lost to violence. (ASU file photo 2015)

By Kesha Williams / ASU News Service

The 27th Annual Walk for Awareness, a silent walk through the Appalachian State University campus to commemorate lives lost to violence, is scheduled to begin 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 University Health Wellness and Safety Week which runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.

The walk began in 1989 after the abduction and murder of a university employee. It serves as a reminder to campus and community members that personal safety is important. It also commemorates lives lost to violence, supports victims and survivors of violence and serves as a collective moment of empowerment.

“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, Office of 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
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all.

The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference.

As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 18,000 students, has a low faculty-to-student ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.