Katie Samek – Staff Writer

Alpha Sigma Tau would like to formally invite the student body to Take Back The Night on Friday, April 14, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Anderson Atrium. This year’s theme is “Shatter the Silence”, with further emphasis on the topic of  “‘No’ is a complete sentence”.

This event will feature several activities, including a dance performance by Senior Elyse Doeden, acapella performances by both GWAC and G-Sharp and a guest speaker from CADA; member Debi Berg, who serves as the family and child advocate for the organization, on the topic of “What is Sexual Assault?”. There will be free refreshments, including Insomnia Cookies, as well as several interactive events such as a positive affirmations meditation group, bracelet-making, and a memorial station where you can light a candle for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

This event also features a raffle, which you can earn tickets for in one of two ways. Students can find teal ribbons marked with “Take Back The Night,” which are hidden around campus, and can turn them into the Alpha Sigma Tau booth outside of the Caf from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. from April 10 through the 14, with each ribbon found being worth one raffle ticket. Raffle tickets can also be purchased at the event for $2. Prizes include gift cards to several local businesses, as well as mystery gift baskets to be revealed at the event.

The final part of this event was the Take Back The Night poetry contest, with submitted work focused on the event themes of “Shatter the Silence” and “‘No’ is a complete sentence.” Student submissions, which could be poetry, prose, or free verse, were due Tuesday. All submissions will be judged at Friday’s event, with first, second, third, and fourth-place winners earning prizes. Prizes for the poetry contest include a weighted blanket, an essential oil diffuser, a game pack, and a spikeball set. Writers who submitted work must be present at the Friday night event in order to collect their prize, though they need not attend the entire event.

Gustavus’ Take Back The Night is one of several events by the same name, hosted globally under the banner of the Take Back The Night Foundation. As quoted from their mission statement, Take Back The Night aims to “end all forms of sexual violence, including sexual assault, sexual abuse, trafficking, stalking, gender harassment, and relationship violence, and to support survivors in their healing journeys.” On campus, this event is run by the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority and co-hosted with the Title XI Office, who will both be present at the event.

Alpha Sigma Tau sorority has been hosting Take Back The Night for as long as the sorority has existed on campus, with consistently large student turnouts of over 100 attendees pre-COVID. The event was hosted online during COVID and makes its return to an in-person event this year. However, the event is much smaller this year, and one of its mainstay events pre-COVID, known as the Walk A Mile In Her Shoes 3K, was not able to be held this year due to inadequate funding.

“April is Sexual Assault Awareness month,” Alpha Sigma Tau’s Senior and Vice President of Community Relations Chloe Keller said. “That’s why we’re hosting Take Back The Night this month instead of earlier or later in the year. It’s a shame that we can’t host the 3K walk this year since it was such a popular event, but we still hope there will be a big student turnout on Friday.”

Sexual assault can be an extremely heavy topic for students, which is why events like Take Back The Night hold such a high significance – to show support to the survivors of such violence, to provide a safe space to grieve and speak out about personal experiences, and to educate students on how to prevent such things from occurring and find resources to help each other when they do.

“Take Back The Night isn’t just for women – it’s for everybody, regardless of gender identity”, Keller said. “And they’re called survivors, not victims. We want to support our fellow students and remind them that they survived, that they overcame, that they are loved and supported, and that we are willing to listen and respond when they speak out about their experiences.”