Friday, April 10, students at the College of William and Mary and local community members gathered on Sadler Terrace for the College’s inaugural Take Back the Night event. Take Back the Night is an international event that helps raise awareness about sexual violence and support survivors.
Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer ’27 and Candice Fox, assistant director of the Office of Health Promotion and sexual violence prevention specialist, formed a planning committee of students — Georgia Horgan ’27, Mary Catherine Slagle ’26, Lydia-Louise Merritt ’27, Erin Reiley ’27 and Ashlyn Connolly ’28 — to help organize the event. Campus organizations involved included Someone You Know, Student Assembly and The Haven.
Fox emphasized the importance of having students lead the event.
“The age group that’s affected the most by sexual assault is 18-24,” she said. “If we’re having people speaking out about this epidemic, it has to be that community of people who are creating a culture change.”
Reiley, the president of Someone You Know, described what it was like to plan the event.
“There hasn’t really been a precedent, which has been fun and also challenging because we have to come up with the structure of everything ourselves,” she said. “It’s definitely satisfying to know what we have done will set a precedent for future years.”
Reiley attributed much of the success in planning the event to the contributions and support of other organizations.
“What’s been most rewarding is seeing how fully everyone has committed themselves to it, whether they’re a part of the planning committee or not,” she said. “As soon as we brought up the idea for Take Back the Night to AMP, they were all in, wanting to help out wherever they could.”
The event started with a performance from student band Royal Fish. It transitioned to tabling from local and campus organizations, followed by speeches, a march around the Sunken Garden and an original song performed by Kudrati-Plummer.
During the next section of the event, the Speak-Out, sexual assault survivors had their writing read aloud. People had the option to share their stories on stage.
Kudrati-Plummer described what it was like participating in the Speak-Out.
“People were sharing their own stories, and I had the courage to share my own,” she said. “It was so emotional but so beautiful and heart-wrenching.”
Kudrati-Plummer explained the significance of creating a space for survivors to share their stories, especially when they are often discouraged or silenced.
“I feel an event like this is here to show people it’s okay to share,” she said. “Even if you’re not ready, even if it’s going to take you years before you’re ready, you will be supported.”
Reiley spoke on the importance of recognizing gender and sexual violence as an issue on campus.
“There’s very much a perception here at William and Mary that because we are a relatively safe campus and Williamsburg is a relatively safe area, sexual violence doesn’t happen,” she said. “I think that some people are really hesitant to view it as a wider cultural or societal issue.”
Kudrati-Plummer highlighted how the College’s latest sexual misconduct survey from 2018 found that 70% of respondents experienced some form of harassment or sexual misconduct.
Merritt hopes that Take Back the Night will inspire community members to act in their own spheres of influence and speak out against violence-supportive culture.
“When we come together, we can recognize this as a bigger problem,” she said.
Fox said that she hopes this event will help promote healthy relationships.
“Education is more than just information,” Fox said. “It’s about having honest conversations with peers and community members about consent and how we can create healthier relationships with one another because no one is really taught that.”
Fox also said she hopes the event will help students feel more comfortable seeking help.
“One out of three people have been in an abusive relationship. That means you probably know someone, and that’s affecting you,” she said. “The Haven is also there for vicarious trauma as well, which I don’t think a lot of students recognize.”
Slagle, a confidential peer advocate at The Haven, emphasized the value of the peer advocate program. Students can walk in or schedule an appointment.
“My biggest hope is that people who come out of the event know that there are a lot of resources for them and that they have people that they can share their story with and be supported in that,” she said.
