U. women 'Take Back the Night'

The event gave female survivors of sexual violence the chance to share their experiences. "Stop the rape, face the hate, women must decide their fate." Shouting this and other chants, several hundred women marched around Penn's campus last night in the fifth annual Take Back the Night demonstration. "If you violate a member of our community, you do not belong here," Penn Women's Center Director Elena DiLapi told the crowd. "Rape will stop when men stop raping." Take Back the Night, a nationwide event, began in San Francisco in the 1970s when women protested the existence of the sex stores and pornographic theaters that made it impossible for them to safely walk the streets at night. DiLapi, who was part of the first Philadelphia-wide demonstration in 1978, stressed that there continues to be a need for an activist feminist presence on Penn's campus. "Take Back the Night is the right for women's space on this campus," she said. "We still have a way to go. Violence against women is a reality at Penn." The program began with introductory speakers, followed by the march around campus. It closed with a Survivor Speak-out, which gave survivors of sexual violence a chance to share their experiences. Between 300 and 400 women marched around the campus. A smaller group of around 200 joined together on College Green for the speak-out. Former Women's Center Director Carol Tracy, an attorney and director of the Philadelphia-based Women's Law Project, was scheduled to be the keynote speaker but was unable to attend. DiLapi and several students spoke instead. The event, which was attended by about 100 to 200 fewer women then last year, was sponsored by Penn's chapter of the National Organization for Women, the Women's Center, the Panhellenic Council, the Office of Student Conduct, the Office of Student Health, the Division of Public Safety's Special Services Division and the Artists Guild. Many men also turned out for the event. Kurt Conklin, the adviser to Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape, explained the event's controversial policy of forbidding men to speak to the crowd. "This night is fundamentally about supporting women in whatever way we want to support them," Conklin said of the policy, which has provoked heated debate across campus over the past few years. "If you love women, stop debating these issues." Female speakers addressed issues ranging from the perception that sexual assault is an insignificant problem at Penn to their own experiences with sexual assault. "People think that sexual assault is not as big a problem as we make it out to be," said Penn NOW Co-Chairperson Hema Sarangapani, a College sophomore. "The fact that people find it controversial offends me." College senior Kate Richardson spoke about the University's treatment of women. "I wonder if the University would change its attitude if we lined Locust Walk with sororities and the Nursing School was where Wharton is," she noted. Richardson also discussed sexual assault statistics, such as the fact that for every rape reported, between three and 10 go unreported. She added that one in four college women is a victim of rape or attempted rape and that 84 percent of victims know their attackers. Several of the event's participants said they came to voice support for the issue. "Even though women have come this far, we still need to speak out," College freshman Gina LaPlaca said. Many women took the opportunity to tell others about their feelings and reactions toward sexual abuse. "Until this year I felt so ashamed and so embarrassed," one women said of her rape. "I hate this. I hate that [my attacker] can make me feel this way." "When I was raped, a part of my soul was violated, and that's not fair," another victim said. Strength and survival were two major themes of the evening. "We must acknowledge that this violence is gendered," Sarangapani said. "Women are being assaulted because they are women. This night symbolizes our demand to live without fear."