Media Credit: Brenna Cheyney

Look around your classroom at the women sitting near you. By the time they graduate, between one in four and one in five women in college will be sexually assaulted, according to the National College Women Sexual Victimization Study. It doesn't matter if she's an 'A' student or sends text messages in class, because sexual violence affects everyone, an issue this year's Take Back the Night event is focusing on.

Statistics can only mean so much when dealing with the topic of sexual assault.

"We hear a lot about statistics. One in four, one in six, one in three, etc. But when somebody is that statistic they are 100 percent," said Emelia Udd, a University senior and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator for the Women's Center.

Udd said the annual Take Back the Night event shows community support for those who have been assaulted and enforces the idea, through both victims and allies, that sexual violence is unacceptable.

"Being involved in sexual violence prevention is a way to break down the barrier between us and them: the sexual assault survivors and those who care about the issues versus everybody else," she said.

The event, which is co-hosted by Sexual Assault Support Services, is broken down into three parts, said Carmen Hinckley, a University junior and volunteer coordinator for the event. Thursday's events will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the EMU Amphitheater with a rally and guest speakers.

Each speaker will express her individual perspective on the issues of sexual violence on campus and sexual violence prevention, Udd said.

This year's speakers include Guadalupe Quinn, Angel Lopez, Iana Matthews-Harris and Oregon State Sen. Kate Brown.

"It's a good collection of survivors and people in power who want to make change," said volunteer and University alumna Hannah Caron, who began attending Take Back the Night events as a child and has participated in six.

"Violence against women is all around us and having a community event like this can bring support to those who need it," Caron said.

The second part of the event is the march, departing from the amphitheater at 8 p.m. and ending downtown at Eighth Avenue and Oak Street.

"It's really intense, but in a way that's very empowering," Udd said of the energy during the march. "It's not screaming or angry, but I think anger is an appropriate reaction" to sexual violence.

Continued...

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