Groups to 'Take Back the Night'

In a show of solidarity against sexual violence, especially on college campuses, women's advocacy groups from across the University will come together this evening on College Green to Take Back the Night. According to Mary Jane Lee, president of the University's National Organization for Women chapter, tonight's program will begin at 8 p.m. with a keynote speech by Penn Women's Center Director Elena DiLapi. The march, which is set to begin after DiLapi's speech, will follow a course along the perimeter of campus, going from Hill House to the Quadrangle to Superblock, then returning to College Green by way of Locust Walk. The march will be conducted by candlelight, symbolically making dark areas of campus -- specifically those surrounding residence halls -- safer for women. The remainder of the evening's events are centered around a speakout for survivors of sexual assault and their friends, Lee said. Staff members from University Counseling Service will be available to students during this segment of the program, and Pennsylvania NOW President Barbara DiTuillio is scheduled to attend, she added. College junior Debra Pickett, an executive member of the Women's Alliance leadership team, was instrumental in organizing the speakout. "Our goal is not to just have people spontaneously running up and telling horrible stories," she said. "The point of the speakout is for the women. It's to impress upon women that if they experience sexual violence, they are not victims, they are survivors, and they are not alone." Take Back the Night marks the end of Countdown Week, during which members of the University's NOW chapter handed out purple ribbons on the Walk to raise awareness about sexual violence against women. A chicken-wire sculpture in the shape of a female symbol was also on the Walk all week. Students were encouraged to tie a white ribbon to the sculpture to symbolize each incident of sexual assault which has affected them or their friends. "The tying of the ribbons was really an effective way for people to become aware of the amount of sexual violence on our campus and among our peers," said second-year Social Work student Shannon Parker, a co-facilitator with the group White Women Against Racism. "I also thought the distribution of the purple ribbons was a great way to spread the word," she added. Parker said she thinks the march will be a "unifying and empowering" event for women on campus. "I hope it increases awareness of sexual violence on campus and the need for services," she said. "Historically, that's been the purpose of the march."

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