Heads turned as students and faculty marched across campus to protest sexual violence on Tuesday at the annual Take Back the Night march. An event created to show support and raise awareness of those affected by sexual violence, Take Back the Night began in the 1970s in Europe and has since spread across the world and onto college campuses.
The event was hosted by the Violence Intervention and Prevention Office, Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, and Rallying Against Sexual Assault. Other organizations, including the Oxford Police Department and Family Crisis Services, were present to show their support.
“This is just yet another one of hundreds of our programs that we have in our campus community to use our voices and to support individuals who have experienced sexual violence and to be advocates for those indidividuals as well,” said Natasha Jeter, assistant vice chancellor for wellness and student success.
Beginning with speeches from faculty and staff at the university, the speakers educated event attendees on resources that can be accessed in the community and on campus, including how to access the Violence Intervention and Prevention office and a Title IX representative.
The march began after the speeches. Led by officers from the Oxford Police Department, the group first marched from the Grove stage around the J.D. Williams Library and then through the Circle before ending back at the Grove stage. The participants chanted and held signs as they marched.
“It was a beautiful and empowering moment to be able to walk in our power and to say how we really feel,” Jeridiane Ray, a freshman psychology major, said. “Being around survivors and just watching them be able to take their power back is a beautiful thing.”
Although the University of Mississippi now has resources for students to report sexual violence, Title IX Coordinator Honey Ussery noted the lack of student access to resources in the past, evidenced by the fact that she is only the second-ever Title IX Coordinator at the university.
“We weren’t addressing the issues of sexual violence on our campuses,” Ussery said. “I know we still have a long way to go, but I want to let you know how far the university has come.”
Title IX exists to allow students to report sex discrimination, including complaints of sexual harrassment or sexual violence. The Title IX office can then use disciplinary procedures to address the complaints.
“Now we have a robust Title IX office, fantastic resources with the Violence Intervention and Prevention Office and those resources are available to each and every one of you,” Ussery said.
Approximately 19% of women and 6% of men will experience sexual assualt while attending college, making sexual violence a prevalent issue on college campuses. Student organizations such as RASA help to advocate and provide resources for survivors of sexual violence.
“I think it’s always really powerful and vibrant coming together, and it takes all of us,” RASA advisor and Assistant Director for Violence Intervention Prevention Shelli Poole said. “There are some people who aren’t even comfortable with coming to this event, and we are walking with them in solidarity to help raise and elevate their voices and to help them be seen and heard in the ways they need.”
