Over the past month, Student Government (SG) has been working on promoting the “eagle shot” at local bars surrounding the FGCU area.
The eagle shot is a discreet way for a person to let a bartender know that they are feeling unsafe and are in need of help.
The eagle shot is inspired by the more-famous “angel shot,” but catered specifically to the FGCU community.
Although there are different speculations of how and where the angel shot originated, it was created with the intention of protecting women in bars, giving them a discreet option when asking for help from a bartender. It is most often related back to the U.K. “Ask for Angela” campaign, which serves a similar purpose.
“[The eagle shot] serves basically the same purpose that an angel shot would, which is basically just that if a woman is feeling uncomfortable or a man is feeling uncomfortable by a situation at a bar, they can order the eagle shot and then the bartender would know that they are feeling unsafe in some way,” Student Body President Emory Cavin said.
The main difference between the two is that an angel shot can be ordered in different ways such as on the rocks, with a twist or neat, which indicate different needs such as needing a cab ordered, the police called or an escort outside. The eagle shot, for now, is a simple order that signals the need for general assistance.
The other main difference is the name of the shot being related back to FGCU.
“It was an initiative that a previous administration started. It is basically the same thing as an angel shot, the difference is, it allows us to officially promote the eagle shot through orientation and flyers around campus so that FGCU students know about it,” Cavin said.
Previous SG administrations have attempted to integrate the knowledge of the eagle shot at local bars in the past, but it has since fallen out of practice. Cavin and the SG Chief of Staff, Tanner Kelly, are now aiming to bring it back by raising awareness for the initiative, starting with local bar employees.
“My Chief of Staff and I conducted a tour of all the local bars to see if they still recognized the eagle shot and if it had fallen out of use,” Cavin said. “And [we] determined that it had fallen out of use due to the fact that almost all of the bars had never heard of it or had said they had stopped doing it.”
To prevent future SG administrations from having to restart the initiative, Cavin plans on improving continuity between administrations.
Their next step in raising awareness of the eagle shot, now that they have contacted local establishments, is to create a campaign that alerts students of how to use the eagle shot and what it can be used for.
“Currently we are planning on giving all of the local bars flyers and other material to hang up in their bathroom(s) and elsewhere to promote the eagle shot,” Cavin said. “I think that even if it helps one person get out of an unsafe situation, that it is well worth the effort it takes to bring it back.”
Mark Lippincott, a bartender at Tiki Bar and Grill, is supportive of the initiative.
“I think it is definitely a good idea, and if any of our bar guests were to feel uncomfortable, we would want to make the most comfortable atmosphere for all of our guests possible” Lippincott said. “I don’t recall it (the angel shot) ever being needed, but I still believe it is a good idea.”
One bartender at Keys Bar and Grill, who wished to remain anonymous, is worried that it may confuse customers.
“I wouldn’t suggest trying to push the eagle shot, just because the angel shot is so well known. If you go to any bar in the world and ask for an angel shot that’s the code,” he said.
Although the angel shot is more widely-known, Cavin sees the eagle shot as one more thing that could potentially help someone in need.
“The point of the Eagle Shot is to give people more options during stressful and intense situations. It’s not meant to replace the Angel Shot, but for anyone who might not know about it or can’t think of it in the moment it’s just one more way to get help in a time of need. Since it’s branded around FGCU, it allows us to hang up flyers and incorporate it into discussions on campus,” Cavin said.
