UF biology freshman Kendall Cantrell won’t go back to Midtown. The last time she was there, the 18-year-old was groped by multiple men at Grog House Bar and Grill.
"We were all freshmen, so we didn’t know what we were getting into," she said. "I was grabbed multiple times."
On Thursday, Cantrell will march with HeForShe UF to show support for sexual assault victims. At 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the group will march from the Plaza of Americas to Turlington Plaza carrying signs and chanting, said Whitney Hall, secretary of HeForShe UF.
"Mainly we hope to raise awareness about rape culture and show our solidarity with victims," the 19-year-old UF biology sophomore said.
HeForShe was created by the United Nations Women last year. The international organization encourages men to support gender equality and women’s rights, according to its website. It has gained support from Emma Watson, Harry Styles and President Barack Obama.
Hall said the UF "Dress Does Not Mean Yes" walk was held for the first time last Spring, and about 20 people attended. But for Thursday’s march, she said about 260 people RSVP’d through Facebook, and she expects a bigger turnout this term.
President and founder of HeForShe UF Lillian Rozsa said men should be involved in the conversation of women’s rights.
"I truly believe if we’re going to achieve gender equality, it’s going to take every gender talking about it," the 19-year-old said.
Rozsa said people shouldn’t become desensitized to supposedly less-severe forms of sexual harassment and assault, like catcalling and groping. She sees sexual assault as a pyramid, where seemingly minor discriminatory actions lead up to serious attacks on women.
"If one of the levels of the pyramid goes unchecked, the rest of the levels run rampant," the UF political science and women’s studies sophomore said.
But UF mechanical engineering senior Caroline Young said she doesn’t think a one-day event can erase a centuries-old problem.
"I think, in the end, all it’s gonna do is get people to talk about it for a little while, but I think it’s gonna take a lot more than a march to change anything," the 22-year-old said.
