UA sudents 'Take Back the Night'

Marching, chanting and carrying signs, many members of the Tuscaloosa community, as well as students from all over campus, joined the 22nd annual "Take Back the Night" protest, supporting the end of violence against women.

The event was the result of cooperation between many different organizations from both on and off campus, including the Women's Resource Center, Verizon Wireless, Coca-Cola, the Counseling Center, Turning Point, WILL, Unscripted, Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Xi Phi, the University's departments of women's studies and theatre and dance and Spectrum.

Stacy Panitch, the programs coordinator for the Women's Resource Center, said the protest was started in the 1970s in Europe and made its way to the Capstone in 1986.

"This protest has become a big tradition in many places all over the world," Panitch said. "It's an issue that has been pushed to the side for far too long."

The evening began at Denny Chimes with survivor stories, poetry, performances and speakers. Panitch said the purpose of the format was to get everyone involved.

"One in four women will be sexually assaulted in their lives," Panitch said. "We are trying to empower the community and get them to feel that they can actually do something to change this."

The second part of the evening was a march from Denny Chimes down University Boulevard toward the Strip and back. The crowd was carrying signs and chanting the entire way. Panitch said seeing the reaction to the protest on a college campus was somewhat different compared to other places.

"People usually just join the crowd as we're marching every year," Panitch said. "This is an excellent way to unite the campus and the local community around a single issue."

Caran Smith, Verizon Wireless' public relations manager for the Alabama and Georgia region, said the company was committed to preventing domestic violence.

"We are proud to work with the University of Alabama's Women Resource Center to bring about awareness of abuse on campus and throughout Alabama," Smith said. "Verizon Wireless is working to stop the cycle of violence in our communities, and Take Back the Night provides a proactive approach to helping those affected by domestic violence and sexual assault."

Speakers at the event included Kimberly Ann Bart, the director of the domestic violence law clinic at the UA School of Law.

"Women need to learn how not to be a victim, and how not to be a perpetrator," Bart said. "We, as a society, need to chose to prevent domestic and sexual violence."

Bart also said not doing anything to prevent violence against women is not enough.

"Sometimes, even our silence is enough to promote violence," Bart said. "We have to take away the parts of our culture that allow it to survive."

Betsy Stewart, a sophomore majoring in international business and a member of Alpha Chi Omega, said she agreed with Bart's message.

"Hopefully, this event will let more victims know that there are people willing to help them recover," Stewart said. "Part of Alpha Chi's philanthropy is the prevention of violence, and we're excited that steps are being taken to reach out to women from all over campus who might have been victims."

Balea Perrigin, a sophomore majoring in accounting, said that no matter the circumstance, violence against women is unacceptable.

"This is a problem that is completely preventable," Perrigin said. "We need to end this problem so that we can focus on curing other diseases like cancer and AIDS."