Come 'Take Back the Night'

The 13th annual Northwest Arkansas "Take Back the Night" march will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23. The Pat Walker Health Center RESPECT peer education group (Rape Education Services by Peers Encouraging Conscious Thought), a program of the STAR Central (Office of Support, Training, Advocacy and Resources on Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence) of the Pat Walker Health Center, invites the community to attend and speak-out against violence and sexual abuse. 

The theme of the event is that it is on us to assert that all human beings have the right to be free from sexual violence, the right to be heard and the right to reclaim those rights if they are violated.  Thousands of "Take Back the Night" marches and rallies have taken place worldwide.

"Violence is a community issue that requires a community response advocating for cultural change," said Dr. Mary A. Wyandt-Hiebert, director of STAR Central, Pat Walker Health Center. "Take Back the Night serves as a venue for community members to come together in a unified voice to speak out against sexual violence and be a catalyst for change and bring an end to [sexual] violence."

Scheduled events for the Thirteenth Annual "Take Back the Night" march include:

• 6:45 p.m. – Begin gathering at the Fayetteville Square, Arvest Plaza
• 7 p.m. – Opening remarks
• 7:10 p.m. – March from the Fayetteville Square to Old Main of the University of Arkansas by way of East Street, Dickson Street and onto the UA campus.
• 7:30 p.m. – Closing activities at the Old Main to include a proclamation read by Mayor Lioneld Jordan

Activities at Old Main include featured remarks by University speaker, a public speak-out, a candlelight vigil, inspirational singing and more.

Commemorative "glow-in-the-dark" T-shirts are available ($10 per shirt) available at the Pat Walker Health Center and at the event while they last. Proceeds benefit campus rape awareness and prevention education.

Also, on display a short distance from Old Main at the Arkansas Union Mall Area during the remainder of the week is the Fourth Flag Project. Based on the national statistic that 1 in 4 college women are sexually assaulted while in college, the Fourth Flag Project consists of 3,349 flags, each representing every fourth female student enrolled at the University of Arkansas based on Fall 2014 enrollment statistics. "The display is a powerful image of the prevalence of sexual violence that plagues college women," said Wyandt-Hiebert.