On October 3rd, Mason students, faculty, program, University Life office representatives, and representatives from student organizations gathered to stand up and speak out against multiple forms of violence. The group was gathered at North Plaza outside the JC. People stood in groups or sat around the clock tower in the cool autumn night while speakers stood in front of a screen relaying facts and statistics on violence.
Take Back the Night is an international event aimed at raising awareness around sexual assault, domestic violence, and IPV. It is an event that began in 1976 and is held in 30 different countries. This year Mason’s Take Back the Night event included bringing awareness to police brutality, deportation, other forms of state violence, and the violence of racism and oppression.
The night began around 6:30 PM. Students decorated pillowcases for local organizations that serve survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV), T-shirts for the Clothesline Project (see http://ssac.gmu.edu/ for more info), and posters for the march across campus that closed out the night. Speakers from different Mason offices and programs included Women and Gender Studies, LGBTQ Resources, and the Student Support and Advocacy Center, who sponsored the event, as well as Counseling and Psychological Services, Mason DREAMERS, and the Native American and Indigenous Alliance. Mary Ann Vega, the WGST Graduate Student Assistant and the MC of the event introduced the night’s event and the evening’s student speakers.
Students of different genders, ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds shared their personal narratives of surviving IPV, sexual assault, and the violence caused by oppression and white supremacy. Some told their stories of reporting rape, experiencing stalking, and the impact that others’ disbelief had on their mental health throughout the process. Some shared their narratives through poetry or spoken word, and many who had not planned to share came up to the microphone and joined in “shattering the silence” around these issues.
At the end of the night, the group joined together to march across campus with signs of protest and finger lights to serve as vigil candles. The event overall provided an example of the power behind unifying to stand up against many intersecting forms of violence that continue to impact our communities.
October 06, 2017
