During a year in which the Advocacy Center closed and sexual assault has constantly been in the national conversation, a record number of student groups gathered in Hendricks Chapel Tuesday for Take Back the Night.

“I am not a sexual assault survivor,” said Emily LoBraico, a senior psychology and ethics dual major. “But I don’t have to be a survivor to stand up for what’s right.”

LoBraico spoke second about her experience being an advocate for survivors on campus and in her hometown in New Jersey.

“When someone tells you they’ve been sexually assaulted,” she said, “you can believe them.”

Take Back the Night is a national and international movement that aims to end sexual assault. Universities all around the country participate in Take Back the Night events. Tuesday’s event consisted of a rally and a march, and a session for those in attendance to speak about their stories.

The first speaker was Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, senior vice president and dean of student affairs, who said there were a record number of student groups sponsoring the event in addition to the 40 groups that signed the Take Back the Night Proclamation.

She also spoke on behalf of Chancellor Kent Syverud, who was not in attendance because of a prior engagement, Kantrowitz said.

Asking a packed audience in Hendricks Chapel “What are you standing for?” the keynote speaker, Kim Williams, a Ph.D student in communications and rhetorical studies, stressed the necessity of having a feminist and anti-rape culture movement that is intersectional, rather than exclusionary.

“Do you only stand to protect middle class ideals? What about poor women? Do you stand to protect white ideals? What about women and men of color? Do you stand for transgender women?” Williams asked the crowd.

Williams added that the movement needed to listen to marginalized voices not only for the sake of inclusiveness, but because it is crucial to completely eradicating sexual assault and combatting rape culture.

“Marginal voices become our moral compass,” she said. “Why? Because that’s when we can affect our most meaningful change, when we fight for the most vulnerable in our society.”

After the speakers in Hendricks Chapel, the Take Back the Night Committee led those in attendance in a march around campus.

Emma Turner, a senior psychology major, said Take Back the Night is important because vocalizing the stories of survivors is essential in creating a space where people can start to heal.

“Ever since they closed down the Advocacy Center we’ve been really trying to focus on advocating for people to be vocal and to heal over sexual assault,” Turner said.

She also added that Take Back the Night sends a clear message to the university.

“If the university makes changes to (its) policy now to improve it and really understand what it’s like to be a victim, I think we can really heal from the Advocacy Center’s closing,” Turner added.

Published on March 31, 2015 at 11:38 pm

Contact Rachel: rsandler@syr.edu