Annual "Take Back the Night" March and Speakout
Against Sexual Violence, April 19
The
Take Back the Night march and speakout, the largest
annual event held on campus, will take place on
Thursday, April 19. Participants should meet at
the Barnard Gates at 8:00 p.m. Both men and women
will march together to protest sexual violence
and rape; later, the speakout on Lehman Lawn will
provide a place for survivors and co-survivors
to speak about their experiences.
Take
Back the Night is a national movement that began
in the United States in 1976. In the beginning,
the movement was primarily concerned with the
role of pornography in perpetuating violence against
women. Today, however, on many college campuses,
student-run "Take Back the Night" chapters largely
focus on sexual assault and rape. The first march
at Columbia University was organized at Barnard
College as a product of a Seven Sisters conference.
The march was held in April of 1988, with a participation
of nearly 200 students. Since then, march attendance
has grown exponentially, reaching just over 2,500
students last April. Take Back the Night has also
expanded in terms of the activities it offers,
as well as broadening the focus of the group to
include domestic violence in addition to sexual
assault and rape.
Take
Back the Night meetings take place every Sunday
night at 8:00 p.m. in the Women's Collective in
Brooks Hall, in the Barnard Quad. The group welcomes
participation on all levels. Any female student
affiliated with Columbia Universityıs undergraduate
schools (Barnard, Columbia, Fu SAS, and GS), graduate
programs (including Teachers College), or JTS
are eligible to join. Men interested in working
on these issues with TBTN can do so through Columbia
Men Against Violence (cmav@columbia.edu).
Contact:
Take Back the Night, Kate: 853-1094, tbtn@hotmail.com
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