Over 200 students attended the Take Back the Night rally Thursday evening to end sexual assault and domestic violence.
The event, sponsored by the Women’s Coordinating Council, consisted of skits, a march of awareness, poetry readings, various speakers and a candlelight vigil for the purpose of promoting a safe environment for women, as well as men.
Anne McKee, who was a volunteer, said because violence against women is a problem that affects all people, everyone needs to be part of the solution.
We need to increase people’s awareness, McKee said. That’s why I’m here to do my part.
The campus group Finding Our Common Understandings and Strengths (F.O.C.U.S.) performed several skits depicting situations people could find themselves in involving violence. The group’s purpose is to promote diversity and to discourage intolerance on campus.
Jessica Shepherd , chair of the event, said she wanted people at the rally to realize the reality of sexual and domestic violence.
The reality is that 700,000 people will be raped a year and they are not just numbers, Shepherd said. They are our mothers, they are our brothers, they are our sisters, they are our friends, and they are our classmates. Rape is not about sex, it is about power and control.
We can take back that control and we can teach others to take back that control, she said.
After the 45-minute march around campus that involved various chants and picket signs, the rally returned to the Humanities Plaza, where student Julia Nance read A Poem for My Little Sister.
But this is not another sob story, another sympathize-with-me, glorify-the-victim poem, Nance read. This is a call to arms. Do something because if you love her, don’t hit her.
Shepherd said the council had been working on the rally since the beginning of the semester, but encouraged everyone to continue its purpose and to give a voice for those who cannot speak.
Our fear about this taboo subject is keeping our society from making the changes that need to come about, said Shepherd, who spoke about the facts of assault, including descriptions of various rape drugs.
Stacie Hogg, a domestic violence counselor and a victim advocate for the Sexual Assault Crisis Center, talked about the myths commonly associated with domestic violence and the cycle victims go through.
She said domestic violence might not necessarily start with being beat. Hogg described the happy and tension phases that occur before the physical one.
In the physical phase, the perpetrator will do whatever has to be done in order to gain power and control, whether that be to physically beat their partner or lock them in a room, Hogg said. Then the cycle returns back to the honeymoon stage.
Law student Jennifer Lichstein, talked about the marital rape law in Tennessee that would excuse the husband under certain circumstances, while anybody else would serve jail time.
It is legal to rape your wife in Tennessee, Lichstein said. And that is a sad, sad state.
Students at the rally were able to get the male perspective on sexual assault and domestic violence with a speech from Brandon Haren.
Haren discussed responsibilities of men toward sexual assault. He encouraged the males in the crowd to make their friends accountable for their actions and to not glorify sexual conquests.
During the candlelight vigil, organizers encouraged anyone who had a comment to come up and speak their mind. The Women’s Coordinating Council asked those in attendance to communicate what they had learned to others they knew and to educate the community about how to work together to promote greater personal safety for everyone.
