News
Womyn’s Center brings students to Take Back the Night event
By Rylee Carillo-Waggoner ’19
October 27, 2016
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On Oct. 19, students KT Glusac ’17, Phinix Knight-Jacks ’19, Sacharja Cunningham ’19 and LillyYangchen ’20 travelled to Utica, N.Y. to the Mohawk Valley Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) to participate in their annual event, Take Back The Night. The YWCA describes the event as an event “held every October to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence and to give victims, survivors and the community a venue to share their experiences and take a stand against violence in all forms.”
Traditionally the event includes a march, a speak-out session and a candlelight vigil, which Knight-Jacks described as “a great ending to the night. We all lit our candles and stood in a circle and shared names of people who we were standing for.” This year’s event was no exception, though it also included a drum circle and viewings of the YWCA’s Clothesline Project and Silent Witness Project displays. Knight-Jacks described this year’s walk “through the streets of Utica, chanting slogans such as ‘hey hey ho ho, domestic violence has got to go’ and about five other powerful slogans,” and her personal transformation throughout the duration of the walk. She said, “At first, I found it hard to chant these, maybe it was me just being shy, but after a while, I found the strength to join in. My voice needed to be heard. I had to break the silence, for I realize that we are chanting for all those who have been (and are being) silenced, and are silently suffering.”
Knight-Jacks also commented on the speak-out as a “powerful and emotional time,” to which Yangchen added that “Having previously worked with victims of domestic violence, I felt very connected to the survivors who bravely stood up against their abusers and shared their stories. The march and candlelit vigil brought a strong sense of community, and it felt empowering to come together as a group and stand up for all the victims of domestic violence. We need more events like Take Back The Night to raise awareness on this issue.”
Knight-Jacks ended on a similarly reflective note. She expressed, “I found it to be healing and liberating in a sense. I am so thankful for the opportunity to attend Take Back The Night, for I learned so much, and was surrounded by such kind people. There is no other place that I would have rather been that night. This is my first step in my work to help raise awareness about domestic violence, and help make this world a place where everyone feels safe and loved!”
The Womyn’s Center organized the trip to Take Back the Night as one of the annual events in which they participate. Glusac, an executive board member for the Womyn’s Center, spoke to the importance of this event, saying that “this event is important to me, to the Womyn’s Center, and really to anyone who has been affected by or has loved one who has been affected by dating violence or domestic violence.”
With the current uprising in student activism surrounding sexual assault and abuse on campus this semester, the Womyn’s Center has been dedicated in focusing energy on these related issues. Recent meeting topics have included shame, interracial dating, the HSMB report and virginity. In September they also organized Sex Week, during which they collaborated with the Title IX office to bring the Female Orgasm program to campus, followed by collaborative meetings with the Rainbow Alliance on virginity and queer sex, as well as an art instillation in the KJ Atrium to raise awareness for the Hyde Amendment which restricts access to abortion services and disproportionally targets marginalized groups of women.
The social media chair for the Womyn’s Center, Caroline Kreidberg ’17 also spoke on behalf of the organization in regards to Take Back the Night, affirming that it is “an important event, because it is an act of reclamation for women. I think it is important that the Womyn’s Center participates in Take Back the Night because students should be involved in the larger community outside of Hamilton. Take Back the Night is an opportunity to act in solidarity with the community.”