By Day GreenbergThe Daily Northwestern
College Feminists’ Take Back the Night, a march that brings attention to the issues of sexual harassment and assault, begins tonight at 7:30.
The event starts at 6:30 p.m. with an hour-long rally. Afterward, the participants will begin a winding march through campus ending at Norris University Center, where students will share their stories in an open forum.
Last year’s march attracted from 200 to 300 participants, said Medill sophomore Ashley Keyser, a Take Back the Night co-chairwoman. Keyser said that last year’s number was lower than usual, and that she hopes for a bigger turnout this year despite predictions of cold weather.
In a Tuesday night forum for the event, College Feminists teamed up with Northwestern Community Development Corps to bring speakers from the YWCA and the Northwestern University Women’s Center in an effort to encourage potential volunteers to “Take Back Every Night” by acting against injustice.
Njoki Kamau, the associate director of the NU Women’s Center, called for a more proactive approach to feminism, and for women at NU not to be afraid of being labeled “too feminist” or a “man-hater.” Women should push to have a voice, she said.
“You will encounter life and you will learn more, but you don’t have to wait until then,” Kamau said. “Continue to push to become a community that affirms women.”
Keyser said she would like to hear more “loud voices” disrupting the seemingly silent attitude on campus surrounding issues of sexual harassment and assault.
“You come to college, and it’s New Student Week, and there’s a Sex Signals skit thing. You get a rape whistle, and as far as I can remember, that’s pretty much all you hear about rape or sexual assault,” Keyser said. “No one really talks about it except maybe in a joking way, like you’re going out and someone goes ‘Ha-ha, don’t get raped!'”
Compared to the era of the civil rights movements,” Weinberg sophomore Ann Marie Dvorak said, “things are kind of just stagnant – we need to make our own movement.”
Dvorak, who is on the volunteer relations committee for the Northwestern Community Development Corps, said she was disappointed by Tuesday night’s discussion because the room “should have been full.” Instead 24 students attended the forum in Annenberg Hall. The three young men in the crowd received praise from the speakers.
“I know that there are so many guys that really respect women and would never try to harm anyone,” Keyser said. “I just really encourage those guys to show that they don’t condone rape at all, because I know they exist.
“The purpose of ‘Taking Back the Night’ is to show these women that they’re not alone, that people are standing with them and don’t condone rape or sexual violence or harassment, and just to encourage them to speak out about it. They don’t have to remain silent.”
Music senior Michael Tybursky said he had never heard of Take Back the Night, but he has an older sister and would consider walking to show support for the cause.
Tybursky said he would like to see males “get more informed about what’s going on.”
Dvorak said she hopes the loud voices that will be heard tonight will turn into loud action.
“People need to educate themselves because that’s most important. Beyond that, you need to actually get yourself out there, in those centers, helping. You can’t just say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m a feminist, I care about these issues.’ You have to do something.”
Reach Day Greenberg at d- [email protected].
