March
continued from page 1A
sponsible for their actions.”
DJ Cera kicked off the evening
at 7 p.m. spinning records. Cera, a
feminist, is well known for her in
strumental talent and was previ
ously featured in the Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Alliance pride month.
The music was accompanied
by sign making, related informa
tion booths and “The Survivors’
Clothesline Project.” The art dis
play of T-shirts were created by
survivors of sexual violence to ex
press their experience of abuse
and celebrate their healing.
“We wanted to energize the
crowd this year and get them
pumped up to go on the march,”
Breslow said.
This year’s featured speakers
included Hillel Director of Stu
dent Activities Jeff Klein, Youth
for Justice member Sifra Morri
son, Oregon Commission for the
Blind instructor Mary Lee Turner,
traditional midwife Clarebeth Lo
prinzi, sociology graduate student
Sergio Romero and ASUO Cam
pus Organizer Alisa Simmons.
“I hope people question their de
fined gender roles by society and
how their defined roles affect all
power relations,” Simmons said. “I
hope that specifically women or
people who are disempowered
take back the night every night.”
Simmons rallied the crowd be
fore the march, saying, “We don’t
need to feel safe; we need to be
safe!”
The participants marched
through the streets of downtown
Eugene freely expressing them
selves and carrying signs bearing
messages such as: “Women Unite,
Take Back the Night” and “You
Go Girl!”
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Ryan Starkweather Emerald
Students and community members march around campus Thursday night with can
dles and posters to show their support in Take Back the Night.
The role that men played in the
march was controversial.
“We had to define how we
could get men involved but still
preserve the mission of how the
march began,” Breslow said.
She added that because there
were men who wanted to visibly
show their support for women in
the march, the compromise was
that men would march behind the
women.
The men carried a banner that
read: “Men Support Take Back
the Night, Violence Against
Women Affects Everyone.”
Noah Zanville, a senior philos
ophy major and member of Men
Against Sexism said he was pres
ent at the event to show his sup
port for the “51 percent of the
population who are under attack
and certainly not honored the
way they should be.”
Men Against Sexism facilitated
several discussions for men as part
of the Take Back the Night program
to discuss how men are involved in
violence against women and how
they can prevent this violence.
Men Against Sexism is a group
formed out of last year’s Take Back
the Night men’s workshop. The
group seeks to provide a supportive
environment for men, to promote
dialogue within the community
about sexism and to advocate for
an end to all forms of oppression.
The 45-minute march ended at
Eighth Avenue and Oak Street
with a speak-out by victims of
sexual assault.
Breslow said this aspect of the
night was important for survivors
so they could come out and show
their community that this is an is
sue that is important to them.
Drumming by Womyn at Play
and a performance by the Young
Women’s Theater Collective also
concluded the march.
Take Back the Nf^ht is the
largest social action movement on
campus.
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