At Saint Mary's College, both Take Back the Night and Raise Your Voice will be held on Wednesday, April 9, and Monday, April 14, respectively, to educate and empower both survivors and allies. Liz Baumann, Saint Mary's Title IX Officer, Alexa Zapata, Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO) coordinator and Katelyn Sizemore, a student representative of the President’s Committee on Sexual Violence, discuss how these events fosters a culture free from all forms of violence.
Take Back the Night
BAVO began in 2009 as a space for students to receive confidential assistance on interpersonal violence. The office organizes Take Back the Night annually for students as part of its mission towards creating a safer campus.
"Take Back the Night is a moment for survivors of assault or just interpersonal violence to feel empowered. It's being able to just take back that sense of power and control that was robbed of them. Essentially, it's working with the tri-campus to make sure that any student feels empowered, that they feel safe and that they know that they're not alone," Zapata said.
The kick-off event is provided by BAVO, while donations are by different clubs and departments across the tri-campus community. Prior to the march, students meet and gather to make posters and be able to come together to discuss a heavy topic.
The march to and around Notre Dame allows students the opportunity to shout the purpose and message of Take Back the Night to those who may not know about it.
"The march is actually, in my opinion, a really crucial part, because you walk around and say what the purpose is for Take Back the Night and it's mostly students that are chanting and trying to get their voices heard. As much as we try to market it, the fact of the matter is, not everyone's going to know what it is or what takes place. Hopefully, with a march that kind of gets people's attention, they can be like, 'Oh, I wonder what that is' and then stop by and learn something," Zapata said.
Survivor Speak Out allows survivors to voice their experiences and stories without any mandatory reporters and only confidential staff, resources and organizations in attendance.
"It's usually only confidential resources such as myself that's allowed to be there," Zapata said. "Counseling, people from Saint Mary's, Notre Dame or Holy Cross and then different organizations like the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County, the YWCA. It's just a chance for students to be able to share their story ... that way they can get it off their chest and feel empowered in a space where they know that there's other people that understand and believe them."
The prayer vigil at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes occurs later in the evening and ties in diverse religious perspectives within the tri-campus institutions. It then concludes with students floating lanterns on Lake Marian to process the night with a sense of community around them.
Raise Your Voice
Raise Your Voice is an annual symposium that began in 2022 following the release of an Observer article detailing the behavior of Zahm Hall as perpetuating rape culture, specifically towards Saint Mary's students. President Katie Conboy then launched Raise Your Voice as an "annual sexual violence prevention symposium" to empower survivors and the broader community.
The Title IX Office at Saint Mary's is a space for students and staff to report on gender and sexual based harassment and discrimination. For the symposium, the Title IX office supports the event, alongside the President's Committee on Sexual Violence established in 2015.
Sizemore discussed what the President's Committee on Sexual Violence is and how it is set up with both administration and students. This includes uplifting student voices through a variety of subcommittees.
"The President's Committee on Sexual Violence is kind of the overarching committee, and then the Raise Your Voice committee is a sub committee of it," Sizemore said. "We look at Title IX policies on the college campus; we meet with Katie Conboy to discuss future plans and how to address sexual violence on our campus and in the tri campus."
Sizemore discussed what was involved with the preparation process.
"The biggest thing was finding the keynote speaker and then figuring out the panels for the day," she said. "This is the first year we're showcasing student art and that's a new addition."
The keynote speaker is Andrea L. Pino-Silva, a civil rights activist and co-founder of the national organization, End Rape on Campus, who was primarily featured in the 2015 documentary, "The Hunting Ground." Pino-Silva will be providing a session for faculty in the morning as further education on sexual violence.
The first event will be the Lizzy Seeberg Memorial Garden at Riedinger House. Baumann mentioned Lizzy as "a very important part of our campus and our story, especially within this topic," and that the community is "really grateful to be able to honor her specifically on this day."
Events throughout the day includes the screening of "The Hunting Ground," along with four workshops on accompanying survivors in clinical settings and an reintroduction to the app, Callisto, balancing advocacy with rest and the impact of sexual violence on the LGBTQ+ community. Additional events include a student research panel and the "What Were You Wearing." The evening will conclude with the keynote address.
Baumann and Zapata both expressed that they hope survivors and allies can attend these events to see resources available to them. They discuss these events as addressing a larger issue for the whole community to be working towards.
"This event truly is for everyone, it's not just for survivors or loved ones of survivors. We all play a part in preventing and responding to sexual violence in our community. We can't just put that on the shoulders of survivors, it has to be all of us," Baumann stated.
