Central Michigan Life

Members of the CMU and Mount Pleasant communities will come together this evening to make a statement against rape and domestic violence as part of Take Back the Night.

This upcoming series of events will include a number of different activities intended to raise the awareness of violence against women and children.

Steve Thompson, Sexual Aggression Services coordinator, said these issues will be brought to the forefront of peoples’ minds during sexual assault awareness month, as they are something most people normally do not think about.

According to the Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates (SAPA) Web site, more than 3 million women will be assaulted this year and out of all sex crime victims, 75 percent end up with an eating disorder or substance abuse problem.

Gail Stern, who has addressed the issues of rape and domestic violence at many universities nationwide, will kick off the events at 6 p.m. in Moore Hall’s Townsend Kiva.

“She is an absolutely wonderful speaker,” Thompson said. “She is funny – she used to be a stand up comedian – but she also really gets you to think.”

Mayor Cynthia Bradley-Kilmer also will speak briefly at the event. She has been involved in Take Back the Night since the series first took place in the late 1970s.

“I always march in the march,” Bradley-Kilmer said. “I think it’s a good thing to do for women, to get out and be assertive for their rights. If they don’t do it, no one will do it for them.”

Following Stern’s performance, there will be a rally and march at Moore Hall’s outdoor amphitheater.

The last event for the evening will be a Speak Out event, during which people affected by abuse can share their testimonies with others in Moore Hall’s Kiva Auditorium.

“It is a very emotional time,” Thompson said. “It takes a lot of courage to speak out.”

The events are sponsored by several groups, including CMU’s SAPA and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

For additional information, call SAPA at 774-6677.

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