More than 200 students convened on blankets on Frist South Lawn Friday night, braving nippy weather to watch various student performances and a special talk as part of "Take Back the Night," an event organized in an effort to raise awareness about sexual assault.
Banners and T-shirts from the numerous sponsors of the event hung across the back of the stage, and participants sported violet ribbons to show their support. Organized by Michelle Fox '07 and emceed by Fox and David Marcovitz '06, the night included interdenominational prayers, performances by a cappella and dance groups and a poetry reading.
Friday's event was larger and better-attended than in previous years, Fox said.
"This year we wanted to make it a much more publicized event, and we wanted people to attend who weren't necessarily going to attend the march but would be interested in attending a cultural event where they could learn something," Fox said. "We wanted to really show that Princeton is united against sexual assault and that there are so many different networks on campus for survivors."
The keynote speaker, Katie Koestner, has spoken at more than 1,000 schools to spread awareness about sexual assault.
"For an issue like this or any issue where silence is the status quo, you should try and give as many opportunities as possible for people to voice personal stories or opinions," Koestner said.
"Take Back the Night" began in England about 40 years ago and was meant as a public protest against sexual violence, she explained.
Koestner recounted the story of how she was raped at age 18 during her freshman year at The College of William and Mary. While she drew laughs from the audience with her analysis of her thought process at the time, including the different interpretations of "hooking up," there was also a tone of seriousness about the issue.
"I don't want you to forget the fact that I liked him, because sometimes I think that the entire issue would be crystal clear if it wasn't for the part where I liked him," she said.
Students said they were impressed with the authenticity of Koestner's speech and her unassuming demeanor while on stage.
"She's probably told it a million times all over the country, but her story still manages to sound so sincere and so genuine," Ishani Sud '08 said.
Koestner encouraged those who have been affected by sexual assault to visit a blog she started called "Shadow the Silence," where people can share their experiences anonymously online and receive support. She also stressed the need to reach out to men to counter the issue of sexual assault.
"Trying to get men involved is really important to me and I think that ultimately that's got to happen for the problem to get better. Men can't see it as an assault on their masculinity to take a stand on sexual violence," Koestner said.
Fox said the ideal goal of the event was to avert all future sexual assaults on campus. It was hard for her to measure, however, whether people were now more aware.
"What I do know is that one sexual assault is too many, more than one is atrocious and it's way too common — frighteningly so," Fox said.
"So long as people don't speak out about sexual assault, you make campus a comfortable place for sexual assault perpetrators. We want campus to be a hostile and uncomfortable place for sexual assault to take place because we want people to feel comfortable on campus."
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