Students come together to Take Back the Night

     The exoneration of the three Duke lacrosse players accused of rape a little over a year ago took center stage in the mainstream media when it was announced on April 11.      Americans listened to testimonies from the falsely accused on the morning news over coffee and throughout the day. By the time most were done with their evening newspapers, they were sympathizing with the three men who claimed their lives were changed forever.
     By the end of that same day approximately 180 Americans were raped according to the Web site for RAINN (Rape Abuse and Incest National Network) which calculates that a rape occurs every eight minutes in America. Those lives were also changed forever.
     The much-publicized Duke case did not overshadow the meaning and purpose of the Take Back the Night March and Rally that took place Thursday, April 12.
     This is the second consecutive year the students of GCSU, headed by the Women’s Resource Center, have organized the march and rally which brings to light issues of sexual violence and empower mainly women to fight for their freedom of movement.
     “This is a national grass roots event that has been going on for several decades,” said Jennifer Graham Stephens, coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center. “Our march and rally at GCSU encourages women to take back their night, fighting the stereotype that the night is a dangerous, dark and scary place for women by themselves. We should all be comfortable, we shouldn’t be scared to go to Wal-Mart by ourselves at night or walk to our cars alone when leaving work in the evening.”
     The event began at the gates of Georgia Military College on North Jefferson Street  at 7 p.m. A little more than 70 students and community members gathered for the march. The crowd consisted mostly of women, but some men did participate and show their support.
     As the march began down North Jefferson Street, a wave of empowerment fell over all those participating. By the time the crowd rounded the corner onto Hancock Street and marched through downtown their purpose was obvious, it was written on signs and the faces of the women and men as they proudly walked past bars and restaurants.
     This march represented women through strength of numbers, reclaiming the streets as a place where they could safely go about their lives.
     As the participants reached their final destination, the front entrance to the Old Courthouse on the GCSU campus, the march became a rally. Speaker John Tramel from Men Stopping Violence in Atlanta took the temporary stage and discussed why men should be involved in the fight against acts of sexual violence against women.
     The event came to an end with the speak-out, which gave the audience the opportunity to share personal experiences with sexual violence or the experiences of friends and loved ones who were victimized in some way. Several women and men offered their touching testimonies that most participants felt was the most effective part of the event.
     “The people who spoke tonight, for a lot of them, it was their first time and I think it motivated others to speak up as well,” said Kim Farmer, a senior psychology major. “It showed them encouragement, so I am really glad people did it.”
     In an attempt to get not just students but faculty, staff and the community involved in Take Back the Night and with issues of sexual violence two workshops took place before the event unlike last year. Tramel presented the workshops in the University Banquet Room of Maxwell Student Union.  The first workshop was for faculty and staff in the late afternoon and the second was for the community held in the early evening, shortly before the event began.
     Tramel was pleased with the outcome of the workshops and stressed the importance of involvement from the entire community concerning such a serious matter.
     “One in three women worldwide will be physically or sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, but we do things in the news and media that make these cases look like isolated events,” Tramel said. “So we are not aware as a society of how devastating this issue is. There is only individual people who know based on their experiences. I think it is important that this event took place with the Duke case all over the media because this event brings a face and a name to victims of sexual assault within the community. This is a serious issue and it needs to be addressed.”
     For more information on Take Back the Night, visit the official Web site at www.takebackthenight.org.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 20 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry