VOL. CXVIII, NO. 122
DAILYBAROMETER.COM
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
‘Take Back the Night’
CONTRIBUTRED BY REBECCA AMANTIA
Last year the Take Back the Night event saw hundreds of OSU students, staff and Corvallis community members march and speak in support of sexual violence survivors.
Event tonight encourages support, empowerment By Lauren Sluss News Reporter
Acknowledging the ongoing issues of sexual violence, Oregon State University’s annual Take Back the Night event allows students and community members the opportunity to listen to key speakers, participate in a campus and community march and hear survivors of sexual violence speak out. As a part of April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Take Back The Night begins tonight in the Student Experience Center Plaza at 7 p.m., and will end at 9 p.m. at the MU steps. “It is a way for students, faculty, staff and OSU community members to get together and acknowledge the sexual violence that’s happening not only on campus, but in society as well,” said Rebecca Amanita, event coordinator. Originating in 1975 in Europe, Take Back the Night is an international event held at different times of the year, and serves to create safe communities while ending sexual violence. OSU’s 2016 Take Back The Night will open with local key speakers, including survivor advocate Brenda Tracy, who was a victim of sexual violence at OSU in 1998. “OSU did not handle her case very well, and she came back years later to discuss it with Ed Ray,” said CAPS coordinator of student workers Bonnie Hemrick. “They partnered together and now she is a consultant for OSU to help us in our endeavors of improving our responses to sexual assault.” President Ed Ray will be introducing not only Tracy, but also
current ASOSU President and Vice President Cassie Huber and Lyndi Petty and OSU student and advocate Kadijah White to speak at the beginning of the event. After the key speakers, participants will have the opportunity to partake in a march around campus and in the community, walking up to Monroe Avenue. “The march is a stand throughout campus to show that we don’t advocate any behavior that is going to result in sexual assault, and to show survivors that we do support them and we stand with them,” Hemrick said. After the march, Take Back the Night will end on the MU steps with a survivor speak out, which is
the most vital portion of the night, according to Amantia. “It’s for survivors to come up and voice their experiences, or even begin the transition of considering themselves a survivor instead of a victim,” Amantia said. “Giving survivors a safe space to talk about their experiences is meaningful because often in society they are voiceless.” The night will then conclude with a performance by the OSU Divine acapella group. Throughout the event, CAPS clinicians will be available, and can provide aid to anyone who wishes to speak privately, said Hemrick. “These clinicians are not mandated to report sexual assaults, so
someone can come speak to them in total confidence and the issue would not need to be reported or escalated in any way,” Hemrick said. Survivors of sexual violence will not be the only group to benefit from Take Back the Night, according to Amanita. “It helps people who either know someone who has experienced sexual violence, or have not experienced it themselves to have a better understanding of it and how it really affects not just the person, but the wider community as well,” Amanita said. Students are encouraged to gain a better understanding of sexual violence on campus not
just through Take Back The Night, but also through OSU’s newly developed bystander intervention trainings—Beavers Give a Dam, said Assistant Director for Violence Prevention Michelle Bangen. “We are really aiming to get people to understand what sexual violence looks like,” Bangen said. “It can look a lot of different ways, and is not necessarily just what people have seen in a Lifetime movie, or on an episode of CSI.” Beavers Give a Dam has worked with several different communities to customize their curriculum, including OSU Greek populations. “We are teaching people to understand not only what sexual violence looks like, but also the skills so they can effectively and safely intervene to prevent bad things from happening,” Bangen said. Students or OSU community members can contact the Survivor Advocacy Resource Center for information or help regarding sexual violence. Take Back the Night encourages students to reach out to the community and end the silence, according to Bangen.
CONTRIBUTED BY REBECCA AMANTIA
OSU students, staff and Corvallis community members marching at least year’s event,
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“It’s a way that we can all show support for survivors,” Bangen said. “What they have experienced in their lives is horrific, and it is in no way their fault. It is important for us to come forward and help to show that we are there for them and we believe they can be whole again. baro.news@oregonstate.edu
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