Take Back the Night

Trine asking people to 'share a pair' for Take Back the Night event

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ANGOLA, Ind. — This year, several Trine University student organizations and the Community Anti-Violence Alliance (CAVA) are asking people to “share a pair” for its annual Take Back the Night March and Rally in April.

Trine University men are putting their own spin on the nationally known “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” men’s rally to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence. They are inviting the public to share their large-sized women’s heels and stilettos for them to wear for Trine’s annual Take Back the Night event.

Trine will host the march and rally on April 4, in conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month and all are welcome to participate. The evening will begin at 7 p.m. on the north lawn of Best Hall on the main campus in Angola. Pizza, sandwiches and other refreshments will be available. Guest speaker Katie O'Bryan of the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault will speak at 7:30 p.m.

At 7:45 p.m., participants will march from Trine’s University Avenue to Monument Circle in Angola to demonstrate its unity in confronting sexual and domestic violence and violence against women and children. The evening will conclude with a candlelight vigil in support and in honor of victims’ rights.

“We will remind everyone that all human beings have the right to be free from violence, the right to be heard, and the right to reclaim those rights if they have been violated,” said event organizer Megan Cook, Trine University counselor.

The first Take Back the Night event was in 1977 in England and was a women-only protest against the violence and fear that women encountered walking the streets at night. San Francisco followed suit in 1978, and since then, Take Back the Night events have spread across the country.

In conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Hall will give a free sexual assault prevention seminar Monday, March 12, at 4:30 p.m. in Fabiani Theatre.

Hall also will give a SAFE self-defense class Wednesday, April 11, from 6-8:30 p.m. at Witmer Clubhouse on Zollner Golf Course.

For more information about these events or to donate shoes, contact Cook at cookm@trine.edu or CAVA at cavalliance@aol.com.

To share your news, contact Trine University communication specialist Lindsay Winslow Brown at winslowbrownl@trine.edu.