At Take Back the Night on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., students, faculty, staff and community members will gather at the steps of Hendricks Chapel to speak out against sexual and other forms of violence against people of all genders, races and ages. Take Back the Night is an international event for people to speak out against interpersonal violence. The night’s events will consist of speeches on the steps of Hendricks, a march around campus and a speak-out session inside the chapel.

 

This year’s Take Back the Night, in its eighth official year, is expected to have a higher attendance than previous years. More people have expressed interest and activities leading up to the rally were expanded, Epstein said.

 

‘Take Back the Night is an opportunity for individuals to come together in large numbers and say violence will not be tolerated on campus,’ Epstein said. ‘It lets people take a step forward.’

 

Chancellor Nancy Cantor will open the rally, followed by Tiffany Steinwert, the new dean of Hendricks, as the keynote speaker.

 

Sacchi Patel, the graduate assistant at the R.A.P.E. Center, said he’s excited to see Steinwert as the keynote speaker. 

 

‘It seems like she’s been really involved in speaking out about these issues,’ he said.  ‘She’s well-versed in Take Back the Night issues and LGBT issues.’

 

After the rally on the steps, participants will march through campus beginning around 7:50 p.m., circle around Marshall Street and return to Hendricks for the speak-out. During the speak-out, which is scheduled to start around 8:15 p.m., attendees can talk about violence or listen in a safe place, meaning no recordings or media will be allowed inside.

 

‘It’s inspiring,’ Epstein said. ‘The speak-out part creates a community that’s caring and it’s OK to talk about what happened.  It honors those that have been victimized.’  She added it also helps dispel the myth that it’s the victim’s fault.

 

A weeklong schedule of precursor activities began April 7 with a panel discussion about building healthy relationships and helping friends in violent situations. Right before the panel, Every Five Minutes, a student theater troop, performed a skit about violence and had the audience figure out ways to solve the situation.

 

During the week, student volunteers for Take Back the Night set up tables where people could show their support against violence. 

 

The length of this year’s event, eight days, has been doubled from previous years, and organizers have seen an increase in interest, Epstein said.

 

‘People are coming out to events,’ Patel said. ‘It seems like the word is getting out, and people are discovering this is an issue that affects all people. They want to come out and show their support.’

 

Every year the R.A.P.E. Center e-mails a statement against violence to all of the departments on campus to endorse the week’s events. This year, Epstein received not only people agreeing with the statement, but many departments wrote back asking what else they could do to help, Epstein said. She was unsure of how many but said it was ‘enough for her to notice.’  

 

The center has also seen an increase in alumni who are donating to the event and coming in support for it, Epstein said.

 

This will be the eighth time the R.A.P.E. Center has hosted Take Back the Night, but the event was on campus for at least four years before that, Epstein said. 

 

Before the R.A.P.E. Center became involved, individuals organized the event. Two female students came to Epstein in 2003 and asked if the center would co-sponsor it with them so they could attract more people. The first Take Back the Night was on the same night as the celebration for the men’s basketball team winning the national championship, so the event had some competition, she said. 

 

There were only 50 people there, but they were able to draw attention to the cause by marching around campus as people walked to the Carrier Dome. When the girls graduated in 2003, Epstein promised to keep it going each year, she said.  

 

This event takes place at colleges across the country, but SU’s Take Back the Night differs from many at other campuses because men are involved in the night, Epstein said.

 

‘Some schools don’t involve men,’ she said. ‘They feel it’s a woman’s issue. We feel very strongly that it’s everyone’s issue.’  

 

About half of the 16-member student planning committee is made up of men, and an all-male student group, A Men’s Issue, is also very involved with the event. A Men’s Issue meets weekly to discuss men’s roles in violence, especially violence against women, Patel said.

 

The event has 37 co-sponsors this year, ranging from individuals and SU Athletics to greek organizations and student organizations.  

 

‘You rarely see something on campus where faculty, staff and students come together for one event,’ Patel said.

 

Last year more than 1,000 people came to Take Back the Night. This year the center is hoping for 3,000, Patel said.

 

He said the one thing he hopes people take away is that individuals can make a difference, and sexual violence affects everyone.  

 

Epstein said she hopes Take Back the Night is the beginning of becoming an ’empowered bystander’ for some people, who will work toward ‘being part of a respectful, caring community.’