On Monday, September 24th, Sacred Heart was lucky enough to host American gymnast Aly Raisman on campus. In an hour-long interview held in the Edgerton Theatre, SHU students and members of the public got to take part in an honest and intimate conversation with the 24-year old two-time Olympian and advocate for female empowerment.
Aly started off by detailing her experience growing up as a young athlete. She started at just two years old, taking Mommy and Me classes, and slowly moved her way up through the levels of gymnastics to get to where she is now. As she got older, she had to go through numerous physical and mental tests, which demanded both muscular strength and perseverance. Aly said that as a kid, she would experience a certain level of anxiety whenever she endured these tests. She recalled almost passing out before doing pullups at only 9 years old and then went on to say how she didn’t think it was normal to care that much about doing pullups for a test. She did however use the experience as an example of how much she cared about gymnastics and how hard she was on herself. In regards to her relationship with her parents, she expressed how “it is the coach’s job to push the athlete, and the parents’ job to be supportive and to also step in when needed, if the coach is being too tough.”
Aly touched upon her anxiety and her new outlook on life, thanks to “Life is Good: The Book” written by brothers Bert and John Jacobs. She emphasized using the terms, “I get to go to class” or “I get to go get groceries” instead of using the words, “I have to go to class” or “I have to go get groceries” and the effect that has on a person’s mindset. Aly said that growing up, she had to make tough decisions, like choosing not to hang out with her school friends, or choosing not to go to parties, because she loved gymnastics so much and wanted to do well at her competitions. She said she would feel left out in high school hearing her friends’ plans, but always felt better when she would go to practice the next day and learn new skills or sign up for new camps. She recalled how she even made the decision to leave her senior prom early in order to get a good night sleep for practice the next day. She explained to the audience that she realized she needed to find a healthy balance, because there were times where she pushed herself too much. She said it is a hard thing to do because no one can tell you if you are pushing yourself too much, it’s something you need to figure out on your own. Aly also brought to light her experiences as a sexual assault survivor, saying that everyone who has suffered sexual abuse copes with it differently, and that it always stays with you, it is not just in the moment. Aly explained that it made no sense to her that she had to actually sit and talk to an audience about how sexual assault is wrong, and how it is crazy to her that she has to fight so hard for people to do the right thing. She supported the claim that children need to be educated that adults in positions of power have the ability to harm you, something that even she herself as a kid, was never told. She explained that society has a responsibility to teach kids that “even if it’s a doctor, or a CEO or someone that you are supposed to respect, and everyone around you is thinking highly of them, if they are making you uncomfortable, that is wrong, and it is okay to speak up”.
Aly then dove into the topic of sexual assault on college campuses. She went on to emphasize how each of us have a role to play in eliminating the issue, saying, “If anyone ever sees or hears something, report and put a stop to it. Don’t just look the other way because if you do, you are just as guilty.” She also pointed out the problem of women just not being valued as much as men. This led up to the conversation of how it does not matter the circumstances: just because a girl is drunk or wearing a revealing outfit, it does not mean that she wants to have sex with you. Still on the topic of women publicly speaking about their sexual assault, Aly insisted that she did not know where the flawed idea that women do it for attention came from because it is certainly not fun to talk about and is rather so uncomfortable and hard. In the near future, Aly hopes to see a shift in our culture regarding women coming out about sexual assault, and to be able to look back and say she did everything she could to help the cause.
During the Q&A session that followed the interview, I had the opportunity to ask Aly a question regarding how girls can inform other girls that when they are drunk or wearing something revealing, it doesn’t matter and that you are never “asking for it”.
Aly responded saying, “People don’t understand that it doesn’t matter what you are wearing, abuse is never ever okay, and you’re not asking for it.” She touched upon the struggle of trying to make others understand and how girls need to know that it is never ever their fault just because they are drunk or wearing a short skirt or whatever they decide to wear. She pointed out that nobody gives men a problem when they are wearing a bathing suit on the beach and that our society just has to do a better job because it gives abusers an excuse. Concluding her reply, Aly said she hopes to see a day where everyone just “gets it” and can respect each other mutually, even if means something as simple as keeping their hands to themselves.
All in all, the entire event was truly an eye-opening experience and I am glad I got the chance to hear Aly’s amazing and inspiring story.