By candlelight, women 'Take Back the Night'

Chanting "university silence perpetuates the violence," more than 350 students broke the evening calm last night to protest the continuing violence against women on college campuses. Sponsored by the University's chapter of the National Organization for Women, the "Take Back the Night" event culminated in a march across campus and speeches by members of the University community. In a speech preceding the march, Barbara Ditullio, president of the Pennsylvania branch of NOW, said "rape will stop when men stop raping." Following a rousing finale to Ditullio's speech, the women began a candlelight procession that began and ended at the Peace Sign on College Green. "We can join together to take back the night, take back the day, take back our lives," Ditullio said. Holding signs -- one of which was sloganed " 'Yes' means fuck me, 'No' means fuck off,"-- they marched for women's safety. Women should be able to walk down the street without the protection of men, said College junior Negin Noorchashm, co-founder of the University NOW chapter. To further this point, while the women marched, the men in attendance were asked to remain behind to listen to a speech by College and Wharton senior Zachary Liff, a veteran member of Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape. "It's great to be strong and assertive," he said. "But when we take that aggression and use it against others, it's wrong." He encouraged men to do more than just "not rape," urging them to become actively involved in educating their fellow men. "I'm definitely a feminist," he said. But several in attendance were hurt by the fact that they were not welcome during the procession. One male student, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had intended to march, but was offended by the exclusive nature of the event. "I refuse to march as part of a segregational organization," he said. "This is not a women's struggle, this is a struggle for the entire human race. I'm offended that the sexist organization NOW refused to integrate itself with the whole Penn community." But College junior Alisha Berry, president of the University's NOW chapter, disagreed. "We welcome the support of men," she said. "But the symbolic value of women marching alone is what 'Take Back the Night' is all about." NOW Vice President Nirva Kudyan added that " 'Take Back the Night' has fundamentally been a way for women to reclaim the right to walk alone in safety." Several musical selections performed by a trio of musicians -- Assistant Director of Transfer Admissions Shelly Krause, Comparative Literature graduate student Karen Schiff and Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Tricia Phaup -- set the tone for the "Take Back the Night" ceremony. The final song of the set was a performance of "Lean on Me," which inspired many members of the crowd to sing along. The evening concluded with a series of "speakouts," which included personal experiences, narratives delivered by those close to victims and poetry readings. "It's not just the strangers on the street," said one victim. "It's the people we love, the people we trust." "This is not a problem that's going to go away by turning our backs," another woman said.

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