PRIYA SHARMA/Daily Bruin Vyshnavi
Chandrasekrarn, left, and Thelmy Perez
hold candles as they participate in Take Back the Night, a rally
commemorating survivors of violence.
By Libby Keatinge
Daily Bruin Contributor
About 200 members of the UCLA and the greater Los Angeles
community assembled Thursday for a Take Back the Night rally, which
started in Westwood Plaza and ended in De Neve Plaza.
Take Back the Night ““ a national effort to raise awareness
about campus safety and to provide support to those who have been
affected by violence ““ sends a message to the community that
members can reclaim their right to feel safe for at least one night
each year.
“Take Back the Night is not just for survivors, it is for
everyone ““ men and women ““ who have had those
experiences,” said Dawn M. Bond, advisor of the UCLA
Clothesline Project.
The rally, which concluded the UCLA Clothesline Project’s
Sexual Awareness Week, featured a march, musical performances,
presentations by community activists, a candlelight vigil and
survivor speak outs.
Participants marching through campus parking lots, where
violence on campus has typically occurred, held candles and
chanted, “We have the power, we have the right, the streets
are ours, take back the night.”
According to a 1997 “Sex on Campus” survey, 45
percent of women and 25 percent of men in college have been stalked
and/or harassed.
This is the fourth year the UCLA Clothesline Project has
organized Take Back the Night. The project’s display of
T-shirts at Schoenberg and Perloff Quads that has been taking
place since Tuesday, culminated with the rally.
Take Back the Night was also sponsored by such groups as the
Office of Residential Life; the Safety and Security Committee; the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Resource Center; and
The Center for Women and Men.
Some participants of Thursday’s rally said even if they
have not experienced violence directly, they have been affected by
it.
“I have a lot of people in my life who have been victims
of sexual violence,” said Eric Wells, a third-year transfer
student and member of the Take Back the Night committee.
Though many participants of Take Back the Night have experienced
sexual abuse, some have encountered violence of a different
sort.
“When I was young, I was physically confronted by gangs
and experienced a drive-by on my street. I remember the bullet
holes in the car. That made me fearful of walking the
street,” said Ghougas Ourfali, a third-year pre-psychology
student.
During Thursday’s rally, many survivors of violence broke
their silence by speaking about their experiences for the first
time.
After Clothesline Project speakers Risie and Angelica introduced
the speak-out segment, other survivors shared personal stories
about themselves, family members and friends.
“I was 14 when it happened. It’s a continuous
process of healing,” said Leah Parrent, a staff member at the
UCLA Hospital.
After the emotional speak-out, the night concluded with a
musical performance by Raining Jane, whose members are mostly UCLA
alumni.
“We end with Raining Jane playing on a note of celebration
to remind everyone that we are all still here working to raise
awareness of sexual violence,” Bond said.