BU students fight to take back the night
Shannon Siders
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: News
By Shannon Siders
The Bellarmine community fought to "Take Back the Night" on Tuesday, Apr. 7. The event, which was hosted by the Residence Hall Association and Save Our Students (SOS), drew a crowd of about 25 Bellarmine students and staff members to raise awareness against sexual violence.
Melanie Evans, Student Life Coordinator, kicked off the event by announcing that there is a victim to sexual assualt every 45 seconds.
"Take Back the Night provides an opportunity to increase knowledge about the issue, while giving victims of assault a means of safely speaking out against the violence inflicted upon them and, hopefully, providing them with a broader support network of those in attendance. Sexual Assault is not just a problem for women, men are assaulted as well, and every person who takes the time to stand up and speak out against the violence makes a difference!" said Evans.
The group participated in a march around campus chanting such sayings as "2-4-6-8 / No more violence / No more rape," to gain awareness for their cause.
The first stop was at Petrik Hall, where Bellarmine sophomore Lakesha Perry shared a self-written poem about the horrors of sexual violence. "Evil has no conscious," she said at one part.
The next stop was in front of Anniversary Hall. Everyone received two pins with beads on them. One pin held two red beads and one black bead, which represents the one in three women who will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The other held five green beads and one black bead to represent the one in six men who will be victims of sexual assault.
The last stop was in the prayer room in Anniversary Hall. A candle-lighting ceremony was held to remember and pray for all of those who have been victims of sexaul violence. Participants were welcomed to share personal stories or stories of friends or relatives.
Stephanie House, president of RHA, said, "Hopefully with the awareness brought of the night, we can eventually no longer have a need for Take Back the Night."
The Bellarmine community fought to "Take Back the Night" on Tuesday, Apr. 7. The event, which was hosted by the Residence Hall Association and Save Our Students (SOS), drew a crowd of about 25 Bellarmine students and staff members to raise awareness against sexual violence.
Melanie Evans, Student Life Coordinator, kicked off the event by announcing that there is a victim to sexual assualt every 45 seconds.
"Take Back the Night provides an opportunity to increase knowledge about the issue, while giving victims of assault a means of safely speaking out against the violence inflicted upon them and, hopefully, providing them with a broader support network of those in attendance. Sexual Assault is not just a problem for women, men are assaulted as well, and every person who takes the time to stand up and speak out against the violence makes a difference!" said Evans.
The group participated in a march around campus chanting such sayings as "2-4-6-8 / No more violence / No more rape," to gain awareness for their cause.
The first stop was at Petrik Hall, where Bellarmine sophomore Lakesha Perry shared a self-written poem about the horrors of sexual violence. "Evil has no conscious," she said at one part.
The next stop was in front of Anniversary Hall. Everyone received two pins with beads on them. One pin held two red beads and one black bead, which represents the one in three women who will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The other held five green beads and one black bead to represent the one in six men who will be victims of sexual assault.
The last stop was in the prayer room in Anniversary Hall. A candle-lighting ceremony was held to remember and pray for all of those who have been victims of sexaul violence. Participants were welcomed to share personal stories or stories of friends or relatives.
Stephanie House, president of RHA, said, "Hopefully with the awareness brought of the night, we can eventually no longer have a need for Take Back the Night."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
ana gom
posted 5/30/09 @ 1:51 PM EST
That is good to fight back sometimes.
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