Collegiate Times

On-lookers in dorms, on campus pathways and on downtown sidewalks watched as hundreds of students and community members bearing lit candles marched across Virginia Tech?s campus and down Main Street chanting to protest violence against women in Blacksburg?s 17th annual Take Back the Night Rally & March.

The purpose of the event was to bring the campus and community members together to protest violence against women and to promote awareness of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that continue this violence, said Susan Anderson, mathematic instructor and faculty advisor for Womanspace.

The march started on the Drillfield and wrapped around campus before heading downtown, with the participants chanting empowering words all the while.

Stories about personal encounters with violence and empowering remarks from leaders of various student organizations and faculty set the tone for the evening. Some even sang and performed their words of wisdom.

To kick off Take Back the Night, Womanspace sponsored the Clothesline Project, which featured 443 T-shirts made by victims of violence from Tech, Radford University, and the surrounding community. The shirts were on display March 29 and 30 on the Drillfield, said Ashleigh Burke, sophomore geography major and Womanspace member. ?I think violence isn?t talked about in everyday life because it happens behind closed doors and it?s a disturbing issue,? said Whitney French, senior marketing major and co-coordinator for the Take Back the Night Committee.

Womanspace reaches out to other organizations to help support their message and promote the Take Back the Night Rally, said Amanda Clark, senior history major and Womanspace member. The planning for the event takes roughly a year, Clark said.

The Take Back the Night Rally & March is held annually, while the Clothesline Project is held once a semester. This event is a part of women?s month, and was first held in Germany in 1973 in response to a series of sexual assaults, rapes, and murders. The event came to Tech in 1994, said Anderson.

In 1978, the first rally in the U.S. was held in San Francisco. Since, these marches have been held in Latin America, India, and Europe. In Virginia, the rally has been held in Charlottesville, Richmond, Hollins University, Radford University and Roanoke College, said Anderson.

Ray Plaza, projects specialist for diversity initiatives, thinks that the rally and march are important for everyone in the community, not just women.

?Fraternities are scared of participating because they may think that they are accusing our men, when really that is not the case,? said Plaza. ?I think this year, Womanspace did a much better job reaching out to those groups. Men in fraternities have moms, sisters, aunts and friends who have been affected and it is very important that the fraternity men also get involved in other groups.?

Other men who participated in the event also recognized the need for men to be more vocal about supporting victims.

?It really annoys me how mistreated women are and how guys don?t really stand up for them on campus,? said Michael Dreiling, junior civil engineering major. ?I understand the majority of violence against women is caused by men and can be prevented by men. For them to come out here is the most important thing because its saying we do care about supporting these women.?

Anderson reflected on equality not just for women but for other groups as well.

?It?s not equal yet out there,? said Anderson. ?There are many, many things we have to do to try to create equality. Not just for women versus men, but for different religions and ethnic groups. We have a long way to go to have a really just society. The more we can do to stop this violence, the better things will be.?