Students ‘Take Back the Night’ Alongside Survivors
by Alexis Barton
On November 3, Roanoke students, faculty, and staff members gathered on the Back Quad to acknowledge the issue of sexual violence on college campuses across the country and to show support for survivors. Take Back the Night is a national initiative that serves the dual purpose of educating college communities about the frequency of sexual violence on college campuses while also demonstrating the network of resources that are available to survivors. This year, the Wellness Peer Educators organized the event once again to connect students with resources both on campus and in the Roanoke community.
Senior Lily Pingel, one of the lead peer educators, spoke to the importance of the event, saying, “Organizing an event like Take Back the Night is always challenging but really rewarding… I love Take Back the Night because it’s a night where people get to feel seen and heard. There are so many people on our campus who are affected by sexual assault and misconduct violations who don’t talk about it because they’re scared no one will believe them, but this event lets them know that they are not alone.” In what has become an annual occurrence, members of the RC community heard from leaders on campus, including Lieutenant April McCadden from Campus Safety and Dean Amy Perkins. Lieutenant McCadden shared her experience as a law enforcement officer in Roanoke City where she saw firsthand a wide variety of crimes, including sexual violence. She assured students that the officers in Campus Safety have experience handling sensitive situations like sexual assault and have the knowledge to be able to point them to the best available resources. Dean Perkins also took a very personal approach to her brief address to students. A Roanoke alum herself, Perkins reminded students that the first person most victims come to is not an office on campus or a legal institution, it is their best friend. She reminded students that by being a listening ear to survivors we have the ability to empower them and help them heal.
The event concluded with a group walk around the campus to physically represent the reclaiming and healing processes that the event hopes to promote. To learn more about what the Wellness Peer Educators are doing on campus, follow them on Instagram @maroonwellness. For more information about the nationwide initiative Take Back the Night, visit takebackthenight.org. For more information about Title IX resources on campus, visit
www.roanoke.edu/titleix.
