Footsteps brings social issues to light

“Footsteps: A Journey of Many” makes its annual return to NIC, bringing with it many exhibits highlighting social injustice issues.

Several NIC clubs put on their own exhibits. Many of the clubs were veterans of the event and made their return with a series of new displays. Others, such as Phi Theta Kappa, made their debut with gripping presentations.

Groups of students move through the exhibit led by their host Evanlene Melting Tallow, the American Indian Student Advisor. As they come to each display, it exposes them to an issue of injustice in an upfront and raw manner.

The NIC drama club, “Actors, Vagabonds, & Such,” presented a video reenactment of two parents fighting from a child’s perspective. With its profane language and displays of violence, the video manages to capture the brutal reality of domestic disputes.

The interactive exhibit encouraged students to walk in another person’s shoes, even if it were only for a few minutes. Participants took part in a quiz in the Phi Theta Kappa display. Faced with the sensory overload that comes with ADHD, students found the quiz impossible to finish.

Other clubs involved were the Veterans Club, American-Indian Student Alliance, Sociology Club, and Gay-Straight Alliance.

“Footsteps” found its start at NIC after Heather Erikson, the Assistant Director of Student Development, and a group of students attended a similar event at the University of Montana called “The Tunnel of Oppression.” After a year of planning, the first “Footsteps” event opened in 2012, finding success with over 300 students passing through the exhibit.