On Thursday Oct. 24, The Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) hosted their annual event Take Back the Night. This event is one of the events that the office does to honor Domestic Violence Awareness Month here on campus.
Take Back the Night, as stated by Marie-Danielle Attis, is “an international event and non-profit organization with the mission of ending intimate partner violence in all forms.” There are hundreds of events being held in colleges all across the country advocating for the conversation and awareness of sexual and domestic violence. Events like Take Back the Night typically include marches, rallies and vigils intended as a protest and action against domestic violence.
For Ramapo, OVP hosts a similar event of these efforts every year to bring together students on campus and to bring awareness to all forms of interpersonal violence. They offer a space to let survivors tell their stories with no judgment or the fear of being revictimized. This event is the personification of the mission at OVP to not only stop violence but also dismantle the culture we have now that creates environments that desensitizes the acts of violence.
Ramapo’s Take Back the Night started with students sharing their experiences with domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual misconduct and sexual harrassment. There were four student speakers who were welcomed to the stage to speak about their stories. Audience members listened to the survivors share their experiences and were engaged the whole time, offering an open and supportive environment.
After sharing stories, OVP began the second portion of the event where attendees walked around campus with signs to raise awareness for domestic and sexual violence and chanting “Take Back the Night.” Students walked around the campus and were cheered on by students in freshman residential halls as well as had photos taken of signs that were made at a prior event. Following the march the attendees went outside by the Arch for the Take Back the Night vigil.
Attis said, “This Take Back the Night is the biggest vigil that we had in attendance. People attended throughout the whole event and exceeded our expectations.” The event had 75 people who came in attendance and 99 people registered to take part in the major event.
Take Back the Night is a special and big event for OVP. It is one of the many events that the office does to promote awareness and support on campus. OVP also does events on self care, healthy masculinity, consent and bystander intervention, as well as promotes a community that is supportive and does not condone the act of violence.
For more information about OVP and their events here on campus look at their website at https://www.ramapo.edu/csi/ovp/.
rbleich@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Kat McGee
