The annual Take Back the Night rally, march and speak out is scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, beginning at 7 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. Take Back the Night (TBTN) brings students, faculty and staff together to demonstrate the community’s support in ending sexual and relationship violence. The TBTN planning committee, a group of individuals nominated to serve on the committee for their commitment to advocacy and these issues, coordinated this year’s activities.
Leading up to the rally, march and speak out, the TBTN planning committee—including the Office of Health Promotion, Peer Educators Encouraging Healthy Relationships and Sexuality (PEEHRS)—student volunteers and numerous organizations and departments will host Hands Against Violence tabling on Monday, March 27, through Wednesday, March 29. The volunteers will be in the Schine Student Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day and the Goldstein Student Center on Tuesday, March 28, from 5 to 9 p.m. Campus community members can stop by the tables and add their handprint or signature to the Hands Against Violence banner, which will be displayed at Take Back the Night.
“Each of us plays a role in creating an environment free from violence. By signing on to the Take Back the Night pledge and adding your handprint or signature to the Hands Against Violence banner, you demonstrate your commitment to never committing or tolerating interpersonal violence,” says Michelle Goode, TBTN co-chair and sexual and relationship violence prevention health promotion specialist.
At TBTN, community members are invited to gather for a 7 p.m. rally that will include remarks and keynote speakers. The student keynote speaker is Rachel Johnson, a senior in the Falk College and co-chair of the TBTN planning committee, who has volunteered and worked with the TBTN committee since her first year. Desiree Williams, coordinator of the Vera House Alternatives Program, will also speak.
Williams received an M.S.W. degree from Syracuse University in 2004. She has been working in the field of interpersonal violence for more than 13 years, spanning many different aspects of the field, including as a mental health therapist, educator and now in her current role with the Alternatives Program, which works specifically with offenders of sexual and relationship violence. Williams has affected hundreds of lives in her work.
The TBTN march follows the rally. At the conclusion of the march, a speak out will be held in Hendricks Chapel, during which anyone who has been impacted by sexual and/or relationship violence is invited to speak. Due to the sensitive nature of the speak out, it is closed to the media.
For more information about Take Back the Night activities, contact the Office of Health Promotion at healthpromotion@syr.edu or 315.443.3514.
