Wow, where do I even begin?? Take Back the Night was so awesome, I can only help but feel like we touched and impacted so many people by putting on this event. This semester, I am not only lucky to be an intern, but I was on the TBTN committee as well. This was super cool because I had never been to a Take Back the Night before, and so putting it together and getting to see it turn out so well was really special.
Although it only lasted for three hours, I learned how much effort, time, and detail really go into the coordination and preparation in order to make the event run as smoothly as it did. Having an experienced mentor such as Kerrie also helped, as she was able to guide us new interns, and teach us the ropes of putting together TBTN.
During class talks and tabling I could see the different reactions people would have regarding the focal point of Take Back the Night. There were tons of people who said they wanted to come and were interested in what the event is about, while others wanted nothing to do with it. This struck me as interesting, and just further exemplifies the need for education regarding the frequency of sexual assault, domestic violence, and rape. It was also empowering to see people come who were initially hesitant about the event, but still stretched their boundaries.
We had two great days of tabling; there was a wide spread variety of organizations that came, and lots of interest was shown by people passing by. I felt like these two days were a great way to kick off the event, and to have interaction between the campus community and some of the clubs.
Another awesome thing to add to an already wonderful event, was the fact that our event was used for a movie! The anthropology professor Jesse Dizzard and a fellow student are making a documentary regarding people's knowledge of sexual assault, and to further educate and enlighten people of its prevalence. They took footage of us tabling, the speech that our keynote speaker Kate Transchel gave, as well as the actual march. I also had the experience of being interviewed for the film, which was really cool. I think the subject of their movie goes hand-in-hand with our Take Back the Night, and was so glad they were able to catch our event on camera. Now, hopefully, our message can be passed even further along.
Before Tuesday night, I was really anxious to see how many people were going to come make posters during tabling, how much the Toms we were going to be auctioned for, and ultimately, how many people would show up. As a student, I know it can be intimidating or uncomfortable to go to club's events for the first time (which could potentially be the reason I hadn't attended TBTN until Tuesday) but that night we had a really great turn out of people, including returners and first-timers alike. The overall energy of the event was really powerful, and it was clear to see that the people who came out to participate were there for one main reason: to end violence against people!
I am so grateful I not only attended Take Back the Night, but being able to help administer and facilitate this amazing event was something I will always remember. There were a lot of firsts during this experience, but now that I've put my foot in the door, I plan on Taking Back Many more Nights!
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