Global event raises awareness of sexual violence

You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? The Student Involvement Center, Counseling Services, and Student Activities Board challenged students to walk the walk on Monday, April 7, at this year’s Take Back the Night event.

“Tonight we come together as a community to take back the night,” said Kerry Spicer, Director of Student Involvement, as she welcomed more than 70 students who filled the Lecture Hall. Take Back the Night is an event that takes place across the globe in order to raise awareness of sexual violence towards women.

Spicer gave a brief introduction to the program and then introduced the night’s speaker, Briana McCarthy. McCarthy, a 2005 Medaille graduate who was active in athletics, Student Government, and Helping Hands, is a survivor of sexual abuse. She returned to the Main Building that night to share her story with the many students who showed up in support of Take Back the Night.

“I want to share my story because I want to help others. I also want people to know that there are people that have been able to grow from their struggles from abuse, because you don’t hear about them too much,” said McCarthy, whose story has recently been published in Beyond Survival: Reclaiming Self, by Cathy Brochu.

After McCarthy spoke to the crowd, members of the audience were asked to take a symbolic walk around the quad. Everyone was given a candle, and the group marched around the campus, “taking back the night.”

“I felt that the speaker’s experience really helped the audience to understand that sexual assault exists more than we think,” said Saramarie Bukas, president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, which showed significant support for the event.

“Take Back the Night is important to take place on any college campus because it promotes a culture of safety and breaks the silence for those who have been affected by sexual violence,” said Spicer, who has been involved with the program for ten years now.

Spicer became involved with Take Back the Night as an undergraduate student at SUNY Fredonia. “I became involved and stay involved because my life has been touched by so many women who have survived sexual and physical violence,” she said.

“The event really brings people together and promotes a sense of community,” said Spicer. “Whether I have planned Take Back the Night, volunteered at it or just participated in it, I have always found this to be true. It is remarkable what the human spirit can endure, and how people can grow beauty out of tragedy.”