Photo by: Greg Lau
If you saw the marchers at the Take Back the Night rally last Wednesday night, you may have heard shouts of, “Women unite, take back the night,” while others yelled, “I love multi-consensual sex!” Both slogans carried the same message: students at the University of Denver will not tolerate sexual assault.
The rally, which took place from 7:30-9:30 p.m., was held to raise awareness about sexual assault and domestic violence as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week. In addition to a student march around the DU campus and surrounding neighborhoods, Take Back the Night also included a speaker at Sidelines Pub, a candlelight vigil on Driscoll Lawn and a chance for students to learn about assault awareness and prevention resources at DU.
About 40 men and women participated in the rally.
The keynote speaker for the night was Christina Linder, director of Women’s Programs and Studies at Colorado State University, who focused on the complexity of the issue of sexual assault and how to begin solving the problem. She emphasized the need to address racial and gender issues when discussing assault and linked sexual violence to conflicts of “power and privilege.”
Linder said there’s not one answer to the root of the problem of sexual assault, but that “many factors intersect to create a culture where rape and intimate-partner violence thrive, and all of these are related to oppression.”
Linder also stressed the importance of men playing a more active role in stopping sexual assault. Instead of a passive acceptance of sexism, she said, men should employ “bystander intervention” when they witness a potentially harmful situation and reject the traditional social standard of hyper-masculinity that often encourages sexism.
“As long as we hold men to impossible standards of masculinity, and hold women to impossible standards of femininity, and don’t allow for any variation for either men or women, we are allowing a rape-supportive culture to thrive,” said Linder.
After Linder’s speech, bullhorn-wielding student leaders directed the marchers past the Ritchie Center, campus dorms, Greek houses and residential neighborhoods. Along with the “consensual sex” slogan, marchers chanted phrases such as, “What do we want? To take back the night! When do we want it? Now!” and “Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no!”
The marchers attracted curious stares from onlookers in dorms and houses and honking from passing drivers, attention getting being the purpose of the event.
“[Take Back the Night] brings unity to the campus, and acceptance to the issue,” said Emily Fazio, 27, a staff member at the Health and Counseling Center. She added that assault was still a prevalent concern at DU.
The procession ended at Driscoll Lawn, where participants lit candles to honor the victims of sexual assault. Many students present said they had friends or family who had been targets of violence.
From there, the rally headed back into the Pub so organizations like the Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), Men as Allies, Undergraduate Women’s Council and Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate Network could talk about the programs and resources they offer at DU.
Moises Munoz, 20, a sophomore and head of the QSA, said Take Back the Night was a success.
“I think it’s really positive; it builds solidarity across the campus and lets others know it’s okay to talk about these issues,” he said. “It’s difficult because you don’t want to be abrasive, but it piques people’s interest…This is a good initial step.”
For more information on advocacy groups and sexual assault prevention and response, visit http://www.du.edu/studentlife/Sexual_Assault/
