Take Back the Night is an annual event held by the Women’s Resource Center at Saint Mary’s to raise awareness and provide survivors to speak up and out against sexual assault and domestic abuse. Over 100 students, faculty, and community members joined in solidarity to support our Saint Mary’s survivors and it was absolutely inspiring.

The event was coordinated by junior Nani Schroeder, the Sexual Assault Awareness Chair and Take Back the Night Event Coordinator. Nani seamlessly brought together campus resources, amazing keynote speakers, and of course the voices of our campus survivors. The keynote speakers for the evening were graduate students at University of California Berkeley, Melissa Batchelor-Warnke, Kathleen Gutierrez, and Erin Bennett. These phenomenal women are demanding change from their university by speaking out about their experiences, which has led to a high-profile and very public lawsuit.

Graduate student Melissa Batchelor-Warnke broke the story to the San Francisco Chronicle, shedding light, very bright light at that, on the issues women like Kathleen and Erin have experienced. The crowd engaged in a Q&A session with Melissa, Kathleen, and Erin, asking and answering questions about campus and institution responses as well as how to act as allies. Having the presence of such inspiring women from a neighboring university was the truest act of solidarity. Our two campuses came together in support of one another to reclaim voices and work as allies in troubling times.

Amongst our keynote speakers were campus staff and community members who also served as support for students and survivors. SCAR, the Student Coalition Against Rape, the Health and Wellness Center, and Counseling and Psychological Services provided information about the work they do to create a safe space for healing on the Saint Mary’s campus. We also had support from Community Violence Solutions, the crisis center for Contra Costa County, who provided helpful information about reporting and handling crisis. These resources were present at Take Back the Night, but are always available to student survivors. You can find all of the contact for these resources on the Saint Mary’s website or by visiting the Women’s Resource Center.

In addition to the brief presentations and the lovely keynote speakers, Take Back the Night mostly consisted of survivors seizing the much-needed opportunity to break the silence. Coordinator Nani Schroeder spoke to importance of this:

“In my opinion, Take Back the Night is one of the most important events the WRC (Women’s Resource Center) hosts. It is a night dedicated to people who are constantly told to stay silent and are shamed for their experiences. I think Take Back the Night is really validating for a lot of survivors because they are able to see that others on campus are going through the same thing and they are able to express their emotions in a place where their voice matters. I wanted to plan Take Back the Night this year because I loved the event so much my freshman and sophomore year. I wanted to continue to create a safe space for the survivors on campus and I wanted to encourage as many people as possible to support the survivors on campus. I was so overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up. We had around 120 to 130 who attended, and this is far more than I have ever seen attend the event. My heart was so warmed by the love and support cultivated on Wednesday night. Students, faculty, and staff attended the event and everyone showed the speakers so much respect and attention which gives me so much hope that we can continue to create a safer campus and be agents for change," she said.

You couldn’t have said it better, Nani. Our campus survivors used Take Back the Night to reclaim their voices through various mediums of art in order to both break their silence as well as stand in solidarity with fellow survivors. The pieces performed as well as the candle light vigil were emotional, powerful, and inspiring. Take Back the Night is an event every student on this campus should experience in their time at Saint Mary’s.

As April and Sexual Assault Awareness Month has come to an end, keep in mind that these issues go far beyond these 30 days. One in five women are sexually assaulted on their college campuses, and that does not account for unreported cases. We have to work as allies to prevent this epidemic sexual assault not just because our sons and daughters, brothers, sisters and friends could be victims, but because absolutely no one is deserving of such atrocities. As members of the Saint Mary’s community and beyond, we must continue to support survivors and prevent the community of survivors from growing.

Take Back the Night is, without a doubt, an incredible event that should be added to the college bucket lists of Gaels everywhere.