Friday, May 24, 1996
Reciting of songbooks, alleged racial focus lead to heated
argumentsBy Brooke Olson
Daily Bruin Staff
It started as a rally to unite all women against rape and
violence; it almost ended in bitter division.
Sponsored by the Panhellenic Council, the Women of Color
Coalition and the undergraduate internal vice-president’s office,
Thursday ‘s "Take Back the Night" rally was intended to empower all
women.
But as speeches by women of color continued in Westwood Plaza,
some of the approximately 400 protesters argued that the rally not
only became a "race thing" but also an attack on fraternities.
"We are oppressed as women and as people of color … and we are
here to take back our rights as human beings," said AnnaLisa
Enrile, a member of Samahang Pilipino and the first speaker of the
night.
Various members of the Asian Pacific Coalition, African Student
Union and el Moviemiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán
(MEChA) also spoke on being violated as women of color. But as the
speeches continued, more than half of the crowd felt Caucasian
women were being ignored.
"This is not a Chicana thing," said Bertha Corral, a first-year
art history student. "We came out here as women  not as a
race."
Rally organizers attempted to quell the tension by emphasizing
solidarity: "United, we’ll never be divided," they shouted.
"I know there’s hostility, but it’s a night of harmony because
we are all women," said Dawn Fraser, a member of the African
Student Union and director of the Women of Color Coalition.
Despite the calls for peace, several angry groups of women,
mostly Panhellenic sorority members, left the rally as speakers
read out the racist and sexist lyrics from secret fraternity
songbooks discovered in 1992.
The songs included references to violent sexual acts and
mutilation of women, causing the undergraduate council to withdraw
its sponsorship of the Interfraternity Council. One fraternity,
Theta Xi, was later suspended by its national organization.
It was wrong, some participants argued, to even mention the
songbooks because the issue was resolved three years ago.
"I think it’s irrelevant to bring up the songbooks  it’s
over and done with and they should just focus on us as women, not
as people of color," said Michelle Gossun, a third- year political
science student and Panhellenic member.
But supporters of the readings said that although the songbooks
no longer exist, it was important to remind people of the types of
harassment that may occur every day.
"The songbooks are just a small part of oppression that happens
all of the time," said Jamie Knack, a second year geology student.
"This type of mentality towards women still exists, and we need to
remind everyone that people still think this way."
Other rally participants became upset with Panhellenic members,
accusing them of being blind to issues of women of color.
"It’s disgusting that Panhellenic women are so united to their
greek brothers that they’re unable to see that women of color
experience issues of racism and sexism," said John Du, next year’s
undergraduate president.
But Panhellenic members argued that all women experience forms
of sexual harassment and violence.
"Panhellenic is the largest and most diverse group on campus,"
said Debbie Kim, the organization’s president. "This is not a greek
issue  we are here to represent all women’s issues and to
focus on safety."
Although fraternity members refused to comment on the songbooks,
some announced their support for the rally.
"I think it’s great for them, and I support women’s safety
issues," said Justin Thomas a third-year physics student and Sigma
Phi Epsilon fraternity member.
In a show of their support, most fraternities hung signs
applauding the women’s efforts to "take back the night."
After several quick arguments among participants, the rally
marched through campus and past Fraternity Row. Chanting "End the
violence, break the silence," the group temporarily blocked off the
intersection of Gayley Avenue and Strathmore Drive.
With the intersection finally secure, Karla Zombro, a former
undergraduate council member who helped to expose the fraternity
songbooks, began describing her experience as a freshman and told
of being raped at a fraternity house.
"As I was being raped, in the adjoining room I heard, for the
first time, guys singing lines from the songbooks," Zombro said.
"I’ll never forgive the system that created that. This is not a
greek versus non-greek thing  it’s about violence, sexism,
racism and classism."
After her testimony, the group continued their march up
Strathmore Drive and ended quietly at Westwood Plaza as women
described their personal experiences of rape and harassment.
"(Women have) been swallowing shame for such a long time, it’s
becoming a habit. Let us speak out … (and) end oppression," said
Christina Shigemura, an Asian Pacific Coalition member.
With reports from John Digrado, Daily Bruin staff writer.