Take Back the Night – 2015
Letter from the Safe Campus Initiative
Submitted by Gabrielle Rejouis of the Safe Campus Initiative
We have been immensely pleased with the encouraging responses we had to our letter in the January 30, 2015 issue of the Vector.
We would like to acknowledge and thank the students and staff who participated in our Clothesline Project. Participants decorated t-shirts with messages concerning violence against women as a lead up to our V Day celebration. The t-shirts are currently on display in the Bridge between Campus Center and Fenster Hall.
In addition to the t-shirts, over 50 students signed our petition calling for more measures to be taken to make our campus safe. We were happy to see so many of you committed to increasing campus safety and hope you will join us on our next venture.
On Thursday March 26 at 7pm, we are hosting a “Take Back the Night” march around campus. “Take Back the Night” is a national initiative which has been ongoing for decades on thousands of campuses across the country. In each of these “Take Back the Night” events, students and other allies have marched in order to make a statement—that all students should feel safe anywhere on campus at any time, and that sexual violence in any form is not acceptable.
We will also march to ask for more Blue Light Emergency Phones on campus. National authorities recommend that a blue light should always be in sight, and there are multiple areas on campus where no blue light is visible. As our campus grows, we also need lights in new areas such as near the Enterprise Development Center or Lot 12. Blue lights are an affordable addition to the campus infrastructure that can help prevent assaults and show the university’s commitment to safety.
Most importantly, we march to build an active community of students, staff, and faculty who all want a campus safe for everyone. We hope you join us on Thursday March 26, when we will meet in the Murray Center on the second floor of the Campus Center. From there, we will take back the night!
