Collegiate Times

Correction: This story has been modified from its original version. — "Take Back the Night is no longer just for women," (CT, March 27) should have had the full name of SAVES as Sexual Assault and Violence Education by Students. The Collegiate Times regrets this error.

Violence against women will headline the 19th annual Take Back the Night Rally and March that will be held tonight on the Drillfield in front of War Memorial Chapel.

The rally, beginning at 7 p.m., will be immediately followed by a candlelight march through campus and downtown Blacksburg that will end on the Drillfield for a closing celebration. The event is part of March's Women's Month and is held to protest violence against women and promote awareness of rape, violence and misogyny in the community.

"Take Back the Night is a great way to bring awareness about violence against women," said Jen Underwood, member of the Sexual Assault and Violence Education by Students and Women's Center adviser, who helped sponsor the event. "We want people to take advantage of the opportunity to help our community be a safe place to women. It is a good event because it brings survivors, allies and people who might not know much about violence against women together for a common cause."

The rally will include various speakers from organizations on campus and will also feature survivors of sexual assault who will share their experiences. Sexual assault resource magnets and purple ribbons will be provided as a tool to raise awareness. Each participant is asked to wear a purple ribbon with a knot tied for each friend or family member who has been a victim of sexual assault. In addition, there will be representatives there to talk about what students can do and whom they can talk to if he or she or someone that person knows has been a victim of sexual assault.

While the rally and march are geared toward mostly women's issues, men are strongly encouraged to come out and show support.

"Violence against women issues are not issues that only affect women. Guys have sexual violence issues too," said Jeff Yacup, president of Men Of Respect at Virginia Tech. "Statistics show that guys are the perpetrators, but that doesn't mean all guys are that way."

Underwood agreed, saying that men, too, are victims of sexual assault and violence.

"We don't want to look at this as just a women's issue because there is a whole half of a population who cares about women's safety and preventing sexual violence against women," she said.

Having a strong male showing at the event makes it capable of reaching more than just women in the community.

"I think trying to have a large male presence at something like Take Back the Night is a big step in the direction of hopefully curtailing some of these statistics," Yacup said. "Being there shows that we're dedicated to the same efforts as women."

Susan Anderson, vice mayor of Blacksburg and faculty adviser for Womanspace, which is hosting the event, stressed that Take Back the Night isn't an effort that can be fulfilled by just one or two groups.

"Women alone are not going to stop violence against women," she said. "Men alone are not going to stop violence against women. It's going to take all of us working together to stop violence."

Event sponsors want to make clear that Take Back the Night is not only about women at Tech, but about women in the greater Blacksburg and New River Valley areas.

"We will be talking about local issues and we'll be giving local resources that are available," Anderson said. "People from our very own Virginia Tech community will be sharing their own personal stories of violence. Marching throughout our community, people will see the different organizations with their signs and their banners, so it will definitely have a very local feel even though this march happens all over the country."

Whether participants attend the rally each March or if tonight will be their very first time, everyone may leave with something more than just a ribbon or a pamphlet of information.

"People will walk away with the tools to be able to use in their everyday lives to make change," Anderson said. "There are things that they will learn tonight that people can take with them when they leave Blacksburg and do the same kind of things somewhere else and work on creating change in their new space."