USU students ‘take back the night’
Posters were made, phrases were chanted and refreshments were eaten at the “Take Back the Night” event held Thursday at Utah State University. The event was sponsored by the USU Residence Hall Association, USU’s chapter of the I am That Girl club, the Sexual Assault Anti-Violence Information office, USU chapter of Students for Choice club, and the USU Perspectives club.
“It’s an event that is put on to help survivors take back their night and to stand up against what happened to them,” said Felicia Gallegos, SAAVI outreach and advocacy specialist.
This event is an initiative to provide awareness for sexual assault and anti violence.
There was a poster making event at Blue Square prior to the march around campus. A contest for the best poster was held and the winners were announced later at the Taggart Student Center.
The crowd chanted, “We don’t grope, grab or hit. No one ever asked for it,” as well as multiple other chants on the march from Blue Square to the TSC.
Lewis Stevens, a freshman studying journalism and art, felt that the march was empowering.
“We have no excuses as men for the behavior and the way that men in Hollywood and other places have been treating women and it takes a lot of people to stand up to that,” Stevens said.
Whitney Howard, chapter leader of I am that Girl, explained that they were chanting so that people know who they are and what they are about.
Alison Berg speaks on her experience with sexual assault to the crowd at the Take Back the Night event held Thursday.
The march ended in the TSC to listen to Alison Berg and Howard speak to a crowd.
Berg spoke on her experience with sexual assault. She said most girls are often told not to drink, not to walk alone at night and not to be alone with any boys.
“I felt like it was my fault because I did all of those things,” Berg said.
Berg added that from the statistics, USU is supposed to be a safe campus.
“Women should be able to walk wherever they want and not have to worry about this,” Berg said.
Howard shared statistics from the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Misconduct that 63 percent of students who reported sexual assault told a friend or a roommate.
Howard explained that they aren’t sharing statics to scare everybody, but wants everyone to understand that there are people behind the statistics.
“I want every friend of a survivor in this room to start by believing when someone tells you they were sexually assaulted,” Berg said. To support and love and believe. To not judge.”
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