With a megaphone and large banners, about 65 Northwestern community members marched on campus Thursday night, chanting phrases such as “Take back the night! The time is here! We will not be controlled by fear!” and “Two, four, six, eight! No more violence! No more rape!”
Take Back the Night, in its 24th year at NU and sponsored by College Feminists, raises awareness about sexual assault and empowers those affected by it, said event co-Chairwoman Emelie Scherker. During the month of April, similar marches are held throughout the country as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The name of the event was inspired by marches in the 1970s in Europe to empower women to reclaim the streets “where women were harassed and assaulted both day and night,” according to the Take Back the Night Foundation website.
Scherker said chanting and marching have a very important symbolic meaning for the issues the event addresses.
“The idea is that we are actually taking back the night physically through the march,” the Communication junior said. “We are on the streets, we are not alone, we are loud and aggressive. It is empowering.”
In addition to empowering those affected by assault, the event is intended to raise awareness among NU students that sexual assault can and does affect the campus, said College Feminists co-Director Maura Ross, citing the statistic that one in five women on college campuses is assaulted every year.
“Sexual assault is a big deal,” the Weinberg junior said. “But there is an idea that women are safe with men that attend your same school, so it doesn’t occur to you that this could happen.”
Before the march, College Feminists and the Panhellenic Alliance co-sponsored a barbecue in front of the Women’s Center. At 7 p.m., participants assembled at the Rock and read a poem intended to dispel myths about sexual assault. After the march, a “speak out” session was held in Norris University Center, which offered a safe space for people to share their thoughts about the night’s events and their experiences with sexual assault, Ross said.
While it was an open event, the target audience was assault victims and those who know someone who has been assaulted, event co-Chairwoman Lyzanne Trevino said. The event allows victims to experience the “support and solidarity” of other survivors. Those who have never experienced sexual assault can also benefit from learning about how “others conceptualize sexual assault,” she said.
Medill freshman and former Daily staffer Lynne Fort said she attended the event because she believes sexual assault is a “really important issue.”
“Someone close to me was sexually assaulted and she never reported it because she was afraid,” Fort said. “People shouldn’t have to be afraid.”
Paul Devlin, a Weinberg sophomore and member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, came to Take Back the Night with several of his fraternity brothers.
“Fraternities are sometimes associated with (sexual assault), but that is not everyone,” he said. “We wanted to show support.”
This year Take Back the Night was held as the culminating event of Sexual Assault Awareness Week, which was co-sponsored by College Feminists, Rainbow Alliance and Sexual Health &Assault Peer Educators. The programming included a presentation about sexual assault in the LGBT community, a discussion about the role that men play in sexual assault prevention and a film screening of “The Line,” a documentary that “explores the line between consent and assault,” Scherker said.
The events were intended to draw more attention to Take Back the Night and raise event attendance, which had dropped over the last few years, Ross said. However, the week’s programming might have been overshadowed by Sex Week, which was held the week before, she said.
Ross said the goal is to make people realize sexual assault doesn’t just concernC = one type of person.
“Women’s perspectives (on sexual assault prevention) should point to the same goal of personal safety,” she said. “A lot of people are afraid of the word feminist. We try to frame this as an issue that affects everyone.”
