Chants of “People unite; Take back the night;” rang out across campus as students marched in the Take Back the Night March on Tuesday.
Participants of the 35th annual Take Back the Night event, hosted by the Women’s Center on campus, took to the sidewalks outside the Marano Campus Center just after the sun had set. The goal of the march was to bring awareness to sexual violence and the fear some women still have of walking alone at night.
With raised signs, the participants, led by President of the Women’s Center Ry Rodriguez and Vice President Emely Curiel marched around the campus, with light from lampposts making the posters legible. From the poster of three women, each dressed differently, that said, “Not asking for it” to others with simple slogans like, “Our bodies, our lives will not be compromised,” there were various messages being waived among the crowd of marchers, each depicting a stigma surrounding sexual violence.
Take Back the Night is an international event to raise awareness about sexual violence against women, which, Curiel said, has turned into brining attention to sexual violence against all people regardless of gender.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men are victims of sexual violence, which includes “rape, being made to penetrate, sexual coercion and/or unwanted sexual contact.” The CDC said these numbers were indicative of women and men who were also victims of physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner. In these instances, the offense often led to injury, a concern for safety and the need to receive assistive services.
Kelsey Gillett, a speaker at the event and former advocate for Services to Aid Families, said intimate partner violence is common. While presenting, Gillett discussed that though Take Back the Night is an important event, it should not still be necessary after so many years. She said there are obvious changes needed in the U.S., noting how many people still believe in old myths, such as sexual violence is perpetrated only by strangers. SAF advocates who participated in the event extended their counseling services to anyone who needed to talk during the event.
Cruiel said Take Back the Night was not just about empowerment, but making sure women, as well as others, felt they had a safe place to go and talk to people. She said it was about making survivors comfortable again.
“I feel like today is more about bringing the campus together and getting a point across,” Cruiel said. “If you step into the room, you’re going to see a huge amount of diversity. You’re going to see people from every single background, and that means so much where we can feel like, ok, as women, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, who you are, what your beliefs are, what your religion is, you can just come together.”
Sean Ryan, a sophomore and residential assistant, walked up before the presentations started and signed the #MeToo poster. The hashtag became prominent on Twitter within the past month to show the magnitude of women affected by sexual violence. Ryan said he attended to support both friends in the organization and their cause.
“I see the care that they have for this movement and making this campus a better place for women even in a world that doesn’t necessarily feel the same way as they do,” Ryan said. “They’re fighting hard and they’re fighting fierce for what they believe in, and if that doesn’t inspire you to show up for an event, then I don’t know what does.”
Other organizations also tabled at the event, including It’s On Us and the Counseling Services Center on campus. It’s On Us held their annual It’s On Us pledge day from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. earlier that day. Lisa Evaneski, the Title IX Coordinator, said that after coincidentally holding them on the same day last year, they saw a bigger turnout and decided to do it again this year. She said continuing to educate about sexual violence is the campaign’s priority.
“I think, sometimes, people don’t know how they can actually be a part of prevention,” Evaneski said. “With the pledge, we are reminding them of things that they can do to contribute to a healthy and safe community. It’s definitely a time to reinforce the bystander intervention messages.”
It’s On Us intern Marianne Guerette said ensuring the definition of consent is acknowledged and shared is one reason she got involved with the campaign. The other reason, she said, was she had seen too many friends affected by sexual violence.
“It’s a good thing to teach, because people think ‘Oh well they came home with me, so that was their consent.’ No, them coming home with you was like maybe they want to hang out, but that’s not saying ‘yes’ to having sex,” Guerette said.
Photo: Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian
