Students gather to "take Back the Night'

The rally highlighted the need for a safer society for women. Shouts of "1-2-3-4 we won't take it anymore, 5-6-7-8 we must stop rape" rang out across campus last night, as more than 200 students wearing purple ribbons gathered to march and speak out about their demand for a safer society for women. Students united to reclaim the night for themselves as part of the University's fourth annual "Take Back the Night" on College Green. After a musical introduction, College junior Titi Yu, president of the University's chapter of the National Organization of Women, and College senior Vanessa Eisemann, a member of the executive board of Students Against Acquaintance Rape, stood in front of the peace sign and explained the meaning behind the event. "This night is for the survivors -- survivors of rape, of incest and of abuse," they said. "This night symbolizes the empowerment of women to live their lives without fear." Microbiology Professor Helen Davies and Penn Women's Center Director Elena Dilapi served as the evening's keynote speakers. "Take Back the Night continues to be a celebration of women's strength as an active agent of change," Dilapi said. "[The event] is about women reclaiming our space in the world, in this country, in the city and on this campus," she added. Women from different backgrounds shared their personal stories of survival. A woman who called herself only "Leah" told how she woke up to a man having sex with her, and ended up in a hospital after later trying to commit suicide. She spoke of flashbacks and her personal metaphor for "Take Back the Night," explaining that "sometimes I think I'm in a perpetual night." "Leah" thanked the event's supporters, noting that "community is one of the only things that's going to help stop violence toward women." And another student spoke of her experience being gang-raped in the locker room of a suburban high school, and the subsequent onset of bulimia. There was some controversy about whether men should attend the event. School of Arts and Sciences second-year graduate student Litty Paxton claimed that speak-outs such as "Take Back the Night" were designed by women with the intention of helping other women. "This is the one bloody night of the year that we ask you, as men, to shut up and listen," Paxton said. "You see [women] all over the place, and when you want our bodies on the cover of Sports Illustrated, they're there. But I don't think you really hear us," she added. Paxton discouraged men from marching, saying, "I don't need you to be there, okay? I don't need you to hold my hand." After the speak-out, marchers linked arms -- serving as a unified voice for all females -- and weaved throughout campus, chanting their anger and hope into the night. They were led by the sound of a beating drum -- meant to symbolize empowerment -- and echoing voices screaming "Women unite, take back the night!" A confidential and intimate survivors-only discussion followed the march at the Bio Pond, as did a general discussion on sexual violence in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall.

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