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Elise Steele

Professor Edwards / Professor Whorton

World History 1120 / English 1150

21 November 2017

Take Back the Night

On October 25th, 2017, the event titled Take Back the Night began on UTCs

Chamberlin Field at 7pm. The event was put together by campus organizations such as: The

Center for Women and Gender Equity, Know More, CAB, and the Womens Studies department.

These groups, in addition to an informative video were given platforms at the beginning of the

event to raise awareness, supply knowledge, and assure participants know of helpful resources in

the case of sexual assault. Following this informative introduction, all the participants took to the

campus streets to march and chant, allocating a deeper intensity to the event. We chanted, my

body! My rules!, We have the power. We have the right. The streets are ours. Take back the

night!, and stop the silence, no more violence! After our voices were heard in loud unity, we

returned to Chamberlin Field to hold a candle lit vigil for survivors of sexual assault. This struck

me as the most poignant part of the night, as victim after victim stepped forward to share their

personal and traumatic experiences.

It was an honor to be able to listen, march, and be a part of such an accepting group. I

chose this event because I had previous interest after seeing friends participant in the same event

on other campuses. I chose to march for my friends and for my sisters in solidarity who have

been affected by gender based violence. I chose to listen because I know how important is for

people to not feel alone in the recovery from situations of trauma ad violation. Take Back the
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Night served as an event to spread awareness of gender violence, promote solidarity, and act as a

safe environment for victims of sexual assault.

It appeared clearly, the event argued that sexual assault is a relevant issue and and

problem to stand up against. The event was open to the public and everyone was welcome and

encouraged to participate in the event, respectfully. However, specifically, the organizers wanted

to ensure the environment was particularly supportive of victims and survivors of sexual assault.

This way, victims will feel safe and understand that there is help and support within their reach.

Furthermore, these specific men and women were then able to lead the emotional vigil at the end

of the night and add emotional connection to the event. As a tool, the candles, specifically,

promoted a comforting and serious atmosphere as various voice shared personal stories. With the

use of chants, the march, and the candlelit vigil, the event raised a powerful tone, which was

appropriate, given the message of awareness needed to be transmitted with seriousness and

importance.

Take Back the Night raised the issue of gender based violence because it far too common

in modern society. Although respectfully understanding men and women are both susceptible to

sexual assault, the Take Back the Night organizers chose to place a particular focus on the

immensity of female victims and the frightening tendency for males not to receive proper

punishment for sexual violence. Recently, social media has been flooded with the tag, me too.

These two words have been attached to a wave of sexual assault allegations. Woman after

woman has come forward with a story, charge, or just the words, me too. The storm of voices

has been instrumental to raise awareness of the commonly unnoticed immensity of women

affected by sexual assault. Women have demanded that men must pay for their actions. There

has been response. For example, Harvey Weinsteins career has recently fallen apart after dozens
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of women came forward with sexual assault allegations. Also, just today, Matt Lauer was fired

after twenty years on the Today show after the announcement of a sexual assault allegation.

Take Back the Night stressed the same message that appears to be racing across Hollywood and

behind the scenes of TV today. Men must be held responsible for their actions; there are no

excuses for sexual assault. Furthermore, women demand to be heard and will not stop speaking

out.

Take Back the Night was a very powerful event that I will likely attend again. The event

will undoubtedly remain important because sexual assault is will never simply cease overnight.

However, events like Take Back the Night are vital to raise awareness, provide a platform for

voices to be hears, and promote change for the better.