March, rally build support

Shouts of "Two-four-six-eight, no more violence, no more rape" filled the air as hundreds of University and Ann Arbor community members rallied and marched Saturday to "take back the night."

The 20th annual Take Back the Night event, organized by the Ann Arbor Coalition Against Rape, consisted of a rally on the Diag followed by a women-only march through the streets of Ann Arbor and a drum line for male supporters.

Sexual assault is the most rapidly growing violent crime in the United States, according to the event program. One out of every four college-aged women is a victim of sexual assault and one out of every 12 male college students admitted to committing acts that met the legal definition of rape, according to the pamphlet.

Take Back the Night is a protest against trends like those described in the event's pamphlets. It is "meant to be an empowering and educational event to help fight sexualized violence," said AACAR member Jamie Feder, an LSA sophomore.

GABE EICKHOFF/Daily Hundreds of women begin marching after a rally on the Diag for the annual Take Back the Night event, meant to oppose sexualized violence against women.

A new group of men and women come together each year with the primary purpose of organizing Take Back the Night. This year's march and rally were the products of two months of planning and preparation, participants said.

During the event, which is meant to inspire solidarity in the movement against sexualized violence, two survivors shared their experiences about sexual assault and a poet, a musician and an activist also addressed the mostly female crowd.

The presenters articulated a general plea to end silence about sexualized violence and make the fight against sexualized violence audible for more than one night each year.

LSA senior Alexa Stanard described the night as a "really empowering event to participate in," adding that "sexualized violence is still a major force for both men and women."

This year, Take Back the Night included the first event specifically for men.

The event, titled "Make a Statement," was a chance for men to show their support of the movement.

The march was described in the event's program as a moment "for women to collectively demonstrate their power to take back the night."

"The power of (Take Back the Night) is that it is such a big group of women coming together," LSA senior Jennifer Naegle said.

She added about the event created for men, "I think it's great. Men shouldn't be excluded - they need to be reached just as much as women do."

Engineering sophomore Abhik Shah said he participated in the event because his girlfriend is a survivor of sexualized violence. "I'm here to support her," he said.

LSA Senior Loveita Wilkenson saw herself in a supportive role as well.

She attended the march "to support the women of (Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center) and the women who have gone through everything really - the emotions and the fear."

04-19-99