At 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 13, about 70 Bowling Green State University (BGSU) students took to the sidewalks of the university for Take Back the Night.
Take Back the Night is an event held on many campuses across the country during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) that takes a stand against sexual assault and violence.
The event started at 6 p.m. at the Jerome Library, where speakers Sheena Barnes, entrepreneur, community activist and member of the Toledo Public Schools Board of Education and Rosa Beltre, President and CEO of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence (OAESV) spoke.
After the speakers, students walked the sidewalks of BGSU’s campus with signs while chanting “Survivors unite, take back the night” and “Shatter the silence, stop the violence.”
Kori Koschalk-Newmister, the assistant director for Interpersonal Relations in the Office of the Dean of Students, said the goal was to display that BGSU is against sexual violence.
“The goal was to be in community, to support survivors and to show that BGSU and the greater Bowling Green community doesn’t tolerate sexual violence,” Koschalk-Newmister said.
Take Back the Night also gives survivors and supporters the opportunity to gather against sexual assault.
“Oftentimes, interpersonal violence prevention can feel siloed, and survivors can feel alone. Take Back the Night brings together people from across campus and the community with the shared goals of visibility and support,” Koschalk-Newmister said. “Our hope is that survivors feel seen and heard, and that supporters know how important their presence is. Together, we can shift the culture and end sexual violence.”
Koschalk-Newmister said Take Back the Night is also an opportunity for BGSU and the Bowling Green community to connect on such an important topic.
“BGSU and the city of Bowling Green have a wonderful relationship. We all understand that we are stronger together. By hosting community events like Take Back the Night on the BGSU campus, we are showing that we are in solidarity,” Koschalk-Newmister said.
Take Back the Night is not the end of sexual assault awareness or prevention, it is one event amongst many that are important to the mission against sexual assault.
“Take Back the Night is just one piece of the interpersonal violence prevention puzzle. The work must continue in order for change to happen,” Koschalk-Newmister said. “My hope is that our community takes the momentum from Take Back the Night and continues this important work.”
