The Andrea O’Donnell Womyn’s Outreach Association marched in Take Back the Night last Thursday with San Diego State students down Campanile Walkway to support rape survivors and to acknowledge those who play active roles in preventing sexual assault and violence against women.
“We were really loud and had a fairly good-size group of people,” WOA Vice President Kaia Los Huertos said. “We had all these fun chants that we came up with and found. The most popular one is ‘two, four, six, eight, no more date rape.’”
Take Back the Night is an annual on-campus rally intended to empower women and support their right to feel safe walking alone at night.
“Some people would cheer with us,” Los Huertos said. “There are bunch of high school kids on campus right now, and a group of them tagged on to the end of us.”
After the rally, there was a meeting at Scripps Cottage. A clothesline hung across the patio outside the cottage, displaying colorful shirts with messages from survivors and their friends and family.
A pink T-shirt read: “Dear Sis, I wish I could change the past, make it all go away somehow, but I’m here now helping you get through this. You’re strong and he will pay!!!”
Los Huertos said the clothesline is a way to tell people’s stories and using T-shirts serves as a symbol to represent the shape of a person.
A number of resource groups also tabled outside the cottage. One booth featured information about the upcoming violence awareness and prevention fair, These Hands Don’t Hurt, which will take place at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday on Campanile Walkway. Thirty organizations will attend, including local resource centers.
“We want to spread awareness to student, faculty and staff; also, if they are in a violent situation, a lot of these organizations will be providing free resources and information,” SDSU alumna and creator of the fair Julie-Anne Brou said.
SDSU Counseling and Psychological Services tabled last year at the fair and plans to return.
“They have therapists there—people who you can go to when you feel like you have no one,” Brou said. “A lot of victims, when they are in an abusive relationship, are really ashamed of it, and they don’t want to tell anybody; there is also that fear that if they do tell somebody, their partner will find out. They are able to help you with that.”
Other supporters spoke about self-defense and preventive methods.
“Put your car keys in between your fingers; they are a fantastic weapon,” Director of SDSU’s women’s studies master’s degree program Susan Cayleff said. “Crime in this campus is up there. Always have somebody to walk with—keep friends close.”
In 2011, five forcible rapes, three robberies and five aggravated assaults were reported in the SDSU area, according to a publication by Business Insider.
After Cayleff’s speech, a speaker from Fraternity Men Against Negative Environments and Rape Situations and criminal justice junior Sean Guardian, said his organization is trying to change campus culture and the stigma that fraternities perpetuate sexual harassment.
“Anybody who goes here and considers this his or her home should feel comfortable being able to walk from place to place on campus,” Guardian said. “You should feel as comfortable here as you do walking inside your house, and this is a fantastic way to bring that back.”
The evening concluded with an open-mic session where guests had the opportunity to stand in front of other attendees and share their insights.
