By Katlin Sweeney

Editor-in-Chief

Students and faculty are gathering on campus to take a stand against sexual violence.

Take Back the Night starts off with entertainment like dances, music, spoken word and speakers. During the performances, various clubs, community members and classes will set up tables that offer resources on issues like violence against women. Then the evening transitions into a survivor’s circle. Everyone sits down and candles are passed out to the group. This is an opportunity for sexual/domestic violence or sexual exploitation victims to share their stories.

“For a lot of people, it’s their first time. You ended up having a significant amount of people going up to share their stories,” one of the event organizers, Karen Guzman, said.

After the discussion circle, Take Back the Night transitions into a march around campus where participants chant to reclaim their bodies and voices. Afterwards, the group gathers to list their demands for promoting recovery against sexual assault and ending sexual violence against women.

While Take Back the Night occurs on college campuses across the country and generally only reaches students, CSUSM’s version of the event seeks to include as many community members as possible.

“One of the really cool things that the student committee that is coordinating Take Back the Night is doing is that they are making the program bilingual and encouraging the community to attend. People who never had the opportunity to participate before are now getting the opportunity,” Guzman said.

Take Back the Night will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 29 in Kellogg Library Plaza