Students will unite to host Take Back the Night, an event that raises awareness of sexual violence and harassment, on Oct. 22 from 7 to 11 p.m. in Flight Deck Pub’s backyard.
The event will feature speakers, performers, entertainment, free food, education and information on resources available to those affected and their loved ones, ranging from counseling services for students to emergency housing for victims of domestic abuse.
Lorena Cabrera, graduate student of College Student Affairs and graduate assistant for special events and projects at the Office of Student Activities, said that Take Back the Night is for everyone — not just victims.
“It is for anyone who has known someone who has been in a situation where they’ve experienced sexual or domestic violence,” she said. “It’s for anyone who’s been a survivor or victim. There’s such a huge issue with people being bystanders and knowing things and not reporting it or not stepping in and helping, and it’s very much for those people ― for people to wake up and be like ‘Hey, I’m accountable for actions I do not take.’”
Attendees will have the opportunity to share their experiences with sexual and domestic violence publicly at an open mic night. Student organizations co-sponsoring the event will host a candlelight vigil in honor of sexual and domestic violence victims, followed by a rally through residence halls on campus.
Cabrera believes that the chance to share personal stories empowers attendees to effect change.
“Take Back the Night is an opportunity for us to shatter the silence associated with sexual and domestic violence — it’s so taboo to talk about these kinds of things, but we aim to bring it to light and say, ‘This is not something we’re going to tolerate in our community; it’s not something we’re going to tolerate on our campus, and, amongst people whom we love, it’s not something that we’re going to put up with,’ and we have to put an end to it.”
Tiffany Simmons, senior marketing major and student co-chair for Take Back the Night, said that a few men shared their stories at last year’s event and that organizers hope more men will attend and share at the open-mic portion of this year’s Take Back the Night.
“At last year’s open mic, a lot of people were talking about their experiences with sexual violence or domestic violence for the first time. It was the first time that they were opening up and not being silent about it anymore,” said Cabrera. “It was powerful. People cried. People felt empowered.”
The week of Oct. 12, the Interfraternity Council will set up a table on campus where participants can create signs for later use in the rally. The Psychology Club and the NSU chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) will set up tables in the Don Taft University Center and at the Health Professions Division to encourage students to participate in the Clothesline Project. The groups will invite students to personalize a colored T-shirt, which represents a particular kind of violence, abuse or harassment, with a design and message to share their story. The T-shirts will be displayed from the upper railings of the second floor of the UC prior to Take Back the Night and will remain on display for at least a week following the event.
The day of the event, the Panhellenic Council will invite attendees to participate in the Hands & Words Are Not for Hurting Project, in which they will leave their handprints and signatures on a banner after pledging to refrain from using their hands or words to commit acts of violence or abuse.
Organizers expect attendance to grow this year because of greater student involvement in planning the event. Unlike previous years, the Office of Student Activities turned over responsibility for planning and organizing the event to the students. Two student co-chairs facilitate the cooperation of several planning committees staffed by students and chaired by campus student organizations.
The Office of Student Activities hopes that this change will unite the student body in raising awareness of sexual violence and harassment.
“We’ve gotten a whole lot more community involvement from both outside of NSU and on campus. There is a lot more student involvement in this one ― a lot of organizations coming on and co-sponsoring.”
For more information, contact Cabrera at lorecabr@nova.edu.
