Speaking Up, Speaking Out

Student-led rally educates, inspires

By MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

It was standing room only in Allison Hall’s great room on April 16 when Violence Prevention Coordinator Dorothy Andrews took the podium. “Tonight is about making some noise,” she told the audience. “I invite you to tune in with your heart, get out and say, ‘This is who we are as a community.’ ”

With that, Andrews kicked off the Take Back the Night (TBTN) rally and march, a student-led event co-sponsored by several campus departments and community organizations that raises awareness about sexual violence. Held on college campuses nationwide each April, TBTN marks its 26th anniversary at Dickinson this year.

The evening launched with a moving performance by spoken-word poet Michele St. Julien and brief remarks by Andrews; Melissa Garcia, interim director of the Women's & Gender Resource Center; Dee Danser, director of public safety; Joyce Bylander, vice president for student development; and student leaders Kevin Yoo ’15, Hope Kildea ’14 and Emily Gleason ’14. Alicia Sundsmo, director of the Wellness Center, introduced keynote speaker Leslie Morgan Steiner, a journalist and Harvard graduate best known as the author of Crazy Love, a 2009 New York Times bestseller about her experiences as a battered wife.

Noting that teenagers and young adults are the Americans at highest risk of experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault, Steiner described the signs of relationship abuse and encouraged audience members to speak up if they suspect that a friend might need help. Participants then gathered outside for a peaceful march across campus that concluded with a candlelight vigil at Old West honoring those affected by sexual violence. All who wished to continue the discussion were invited to Landis House for small-group discussions; information about campus and community resources and counselors also were on hand. 

Yoo, an East Asian studies major, noted that student organizations like Yes, Please can provide additional support for those who experience violence directly, as well as those who would like to learn how they might be able to help.

“We all can somehow start to be involved in this movement—sometimes it’s just a matter of having a conversation, or being a listening ear,” he said. “And just being here is important, because it makes a statement. Our voices will remove the blanket of complacency.”

Learn more

• Opportunities for Engagement
• Women's & Gender Resource Center
• Wellness Center
• Department of Public Safety
• Division of Student Development
• "Things That Can't Be Said Any Other Way"

Published April 17, 2014