University students attracted double takes and perplexed stares Tuesday as they walked campus and attended class completely bare.
Barefoot, that is. Students participated in the worldwide event “One Day Without Shoes,” an annual project that aims to raise awareness about the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life.
The day is sponsored by TOMS Shoes, a one-for-one program that donates a pair of shoes for every pair of TOMS purchased.
TOMS asks people to spend the entire day or a portion of the day barefoot to experience firsthand what it’s like to live without shoes.
Alyssa deGruy and Morgan Merriman, education freshmen, walked shoeless Tuesday through the Quad despite chilly temperatures.
“I heard about the event this year and wanted to support it,” deGruy said.
Merriman said the duo heard about “One Day Without Shoes” through a Facebook advertisement.
“People will see us and question why we don’t have on shoes,” she said. “Then they can learn about why.”
Kristina Lagasse, mass communication sophomore, said the day is a way to “put yourself in other people’s shoes by taking yours off.”
Lagasse encourages students to participate in future events, as it helps open eyes to the issue.
“So many people don’t think that something as simple as shoes can have an impact,” she said.
According to the TOMS website, people are participating in all 50 states and in Korea, Greece, New Zealand, Spain, England, China, South Africa and Canada.
“One Day Without Shoes” events include mile-long barefoot walks, virtual events where students can blog about their personal experiences and sites where students can post photographs of their naked feet.
Organizations nationwide have engaged in the project by adding a competition called “The Challenge.”
The organization with the most participants will win a speaking engagement with Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS, and 10 participants will be chosen to travel with TOMS to distribute shoes.
Mycoskie spoke at the University’s Student Union Theater in November.
Lagasse and several others attempted to form an on-campus organization dedicated to the TOMS mission last spring but were denied. She said they were turned away because TOMS is a for-profit company.
Lagasse said she is happy to see students participating on their own.
“Though LSU doesn’t have an official event, we still care,” Lagasse said.
 
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Contact Sydni Dunn at [email protected]