Taking back the night

Protesting violence and assault

The annual Take Back the Night event gives the University of Idaho community a chance to come together and protest against all forms of violence and assault.

This year, the event is at 8 p.m., Thursday in room 106 of the Agricultural Science building. 

Take Back the Night is a longtime tradition spanning over 10 years at UI, said Bekah MillerMacPhee, assistant director for programs at the Women’s Center. The Women’s Center and Violence Prevention Programs are co-presenting the event, with help from Campus Safety and various other campus partners.  The event includes a speaker session, followed by a march through campus and a speak-out portion.

UI Violence Prevention Programs Coordinator, Virginia Solan said the message of Take Back the Night goes beyond letting women know they should feel safe while walking on campus and encourages the inclusion of everyone.

“We always invite everybody, it’s not a genderfied thing. We invite everybody because violence affects everybody,” she said. “One in six men and one in 13 women by the time they leave college have already been sexually assaulted. When it comes to power-based violence, it doesn’t know gender, it doesn’t know socioeconomic status, it affects everybody.”

The event includes guest speaker Emilie MacLarnan, assistant director of Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse. MacLarnan was chosen to speak at the event by MillerMacPhee, who thought that, rather than trying to find a speaker who had personal experience with violence like last year’s speaker, she wanted to find someone who would talk about a connection to violence from a different perspective.

“She has been providing services to victims and survivors for almost 15 years,” MillerMacPhee said. “I thought it would be very beneficial to our community to hear from somebody who has been doing the work for that long, who is passionate about it, who is hopeful about it and who has been witness to the strength of victims and survivors for so many years.”

Presentations from students about other safety initiatives on campus will also be given, such as Green Dot. Solan said Green Dot ties in with Take Back the Night because both programs have the ability to help individuals develop prevention techniques.

“Most people, I totally believe don’t support violence of any kind, but they don’t have the skills or they don’t feel personally accountable to do anything about it,” she said. “Once people are invited, and they get the skills, and they realize they don’t have to change anything about themselves to prevent someone else from being hurt, they get excited and they take action.”

Take Back the Night is about getting people motivated, inspired and ready to take action, she said.

After the presentations, attendees may then participate in a serpentine that moves throughout campus holding signs with powerful messages of tolerance and strength. In past years, participants used to chant while moving throughout campus. However, Solan said due to the large number of people participating in the chants, they often become muddled, and the message is lost. Solan said the serpentine will be silent this year, accompanied by a whistle blow once every two minutes, indicating the statistic that every two minutes a person is assaulted in the U.S.

Once the serpentine circles back to the Agriculture Science building, there will be hot cocoa and cookies to warm up, as the Speak-Out is prepared. The Speak-Out is an interactive portion of the event for those with a personal story of violence to take a stand and tell their story in a safe environment.

“I think the nice thing about (the Speak-Out) is it can really break down the isolation,” MillerMacPhee said. “People who have been victimized feel really isolated. Personal based violence is such an intimate type of violence that can really make you feel alone. So the Speak-Out is a nice way for people to know that they aren’t alone.”

An ATVP advocate will facilitate the Speak-Out to ensure the environment remains safe for all participants.

“(Take Back the Night) is a message for everyone on campus, whether they go or not,” Solan said. “We are a campus that takes these matters seriously, and where violence may sometimes happen, but there are people here making this statement of solidarity that says, ‘I care about this and I do not support violence.’ I see it as a way for people to take action on the ground level.”

Emily Aizawa can be reached at [email protected]

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Emily Aizawa News reporter Freshman in public relations Can be reached at [email protected]

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