![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2019\/11\/temp-color-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sage Kiernan-Sherrow<\/strong> | News Editor<\/span><\/p>\n Taking place at the tail-end of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Take Back the Night was hosted by Abby\u2019s House on Oct. 26. Take Back the Night originated in the \u201870s after a cumulation of incidents, most predominantly, the nighttime murder of Susan Alexander Speeth. Today, Take Back the Night is usually organized as a march against sexual violence and violence against women.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This year, Abby\u2019s House invited Jackie Sandmeyer to speak at the event. Sandmeyer is the founder of TIX Education Specialists, an organization dedicated to working with universities, law enforcement, prosecutors and community-based service providers to identify and create some of the nation\u2019s leading models in Title Nine and student victims\u2019 services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Western\u2019s Take Back the Night began with time to reflect; a chime sounded off every nine seconds, representing the frequency someone is beaten in the United States. Students were encouraged to walk around and reflect on their own experiences, as well as observe comforting messages written on sticky notes throughout the room.<\/span><\/p>\n Afterwards, Sandmeyer began by asking students to participate during their presentation.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to ask you today, not to sit here quietly \u2026 I find it interesting that we broach a topic that we feel uncomfortable talking about and then we hope that the bravest among us who have experienced the worst among us break that silence,\u201d said Sandmeyer.<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout the presentation, Sandmeyer urged the audience to question themselves. Too often, Sandmeyer said, does dialogue end after the victim or survivor has told their story. Sandmeyer would rather everyone reflect on their own accountability as perpetrators, survivors, listeners and bystanders. Sandmeyer also acknowledged their own tendency for violence. After having spent much of their adolescence on the streets, they said that everyday they reflect on \u201cif (they are) doing (their) part to, one, acknowledge that (they) are capable of that, and two, make a different choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to discussing violence, Sandmeyer admits that their advocacy makes strategic use of more palatable narratives \u2014 predominantly the stories of white women \u2014 to initiate change and get people to listen. Of course, that leaves many identities out of the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf we acknowledge that violence is about power and control, what we know about people who experience violence comes down to we place different values on different people\u2019s bodies,\u201d said Sandmeyer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While it is a well-known statistic that one in five women are assaulted, those numbers steadily increase for minority populations, and don\u2019t include the statistics for other genders. However, Sandmeyer believes that relying on these statistics to initiate conversation can be problematic because \u201cwe assign really dehumanizing rates to people who experience violence,\u201d rather than focusing on their successes. They said that, \u201cthe more (they) tell college students (statistics), the less people get shocked \u2026 we\u2019ve normalized this to a certain point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Equally normalized are the \u2018accepted\u2019\u2019 and misleading narratives surrounding violence \u2014 such as the narrative that it is always committed by a stranger. Breaking free from those confining stereotypes requires talking about consent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAre we having conversations with our partners, our friends, our families, our communities about sex, consent, pleasure, autonomy, agency and so on,\u201d challenged Sandmeyer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although much of the discussion was in regards to proactive dialogue, Sandmeyer finished their presentation by urging the audience to \u201chold space, compassion, and love for people who choose to remain silent \u2026 resilience is not linear and it does not always look the same way \u2026 not only is there a certain way that we expect victims to look, but there is a certain way that we expect them to heal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This was an affirmation before the speak-out portion of the event, in which the audience members were invited to tell their stories. Later, during the candlelit march on campus, students reflected on a question posed by Sandmeyer earlier that night: \u201cwe\u2019ve heard their stories, now what will implementing change look like?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n