Take Back the Night
April 2006
Schedule of Events

Take Back the Night is an annual event at Wesleyan University
and college campuses nationwide to raise awareness about sexual violence.

Planned by the Take Back the Night Planning Committee
with support from WesWELL's Peer Health Advocates
Unless otherwise noted, please direct questions on these events to a Take Back the Night (TBTN) Planning Committee Member:
Click on an event or activity for more information:
Narrative Submissions
In order to represent the voices of those who may not be otherwise heard, we are seeking written submissions of narratives from those who have experienced sexual assault or been impacted by sexual violence. The content of the narrative is entirely up to the author and will not be edited before being read.

Narratives will be read anonymously on the author's behalf at a Speakout Circle during the TBTN March. The readers will be reminded that they should not read the narratives dramatically, and that they need to be sensitive and respectful to the author's experience.

If you wish to submit a narrative, please send it through campus mail to WesWELL, Davison Health Center by Tuesday, April 25th. You may also submit it by email to weswell@wesleyan.edu. While all submissions will remain confidential and anonymous, you may choose to send it from a non-Wesleyan email account that does not use your name or identify you in any manner. 

Clothesline Project

  • What is the Clothesline Project?
    The Clothesline Project is new to Wesleyan this year, but it has been used in association with Take Back the Night or on its own at other schools.  The Clothesline Project (CLP) is a program started on Cape Cod, MA, in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women. It is a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt. They then hang the shirt on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women.

    At Wesleyan, these “shirts” will instead be pieces of fabric or flags, to be decorated by students affected by sexual assault or in support of those who have.   The CLP was initially started as a women-specific event, but Wesleyan’s event will be open to all students.  
     

  • What can I put on my flag?
    Use your flag to say anything you need to about sexual assault, whether it is your own story, a message to an abuser or victim, a picture, or a fact.  All of these will be completely anonymous, so say whatever you need to.  Please do not use names on your flag, unless you have express permission.  This project has been an extremely powerful tool at other schools, and it is also a very emotional issue.  Please make a flag, but please also take this seriously.

You can create a flag at the Clothesline Project table in the Campus Center or Mocon, or you can bring one home and return it at a later date. The Solarium in the Health Center will also be available to make a flag in private (see schedule below). Your flag will be put on display in front of Olin Library the week of Take Back the Night. The power of this project is in numbers, so please get involved!

  • How can I get involved in the Clothesline Project?
    Tables will be set up in the Campus Center and in Mocon from Friday, April 11th through Sunday April 23rd to make flags.  There will also be time to make flags in private at the Davison Health Center Solarium (Room 201, adjacent to WesWELL) at the following times:    

    • Saturday, April 15, 12:00pm to 4:00pm
    • Monday, April 17, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
    • Tuesday, April 18, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
    • Wednesday, April 19, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
    • Saturday, April 22, 12:00pm to 4:00pm
    • Monday, April 24, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
    • Tuesday, April 25, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
    • Wednesday, April 26, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
  • When and where will the Clothesline Project be displayed?
    The Clothesline Project will be displayed at Olin Library from     Sunday, April 23rd through Friday, April 28th.

For more information on this event, contact Carolyn Ariori at cariori@wes.

TBTN T-Shirt Sales
MoCon & Campus Center
Noon on April 24, 25, 26 & 27
Purchase a TBTN t-shirt for $10 each.
All proceeds will benefit the Women & Families Center in Middletown.

Vespers on Healing
Wednesday, April 26th at 5:30pm
Chaplain's Office, 169 High Street

Student of Color Pre-Forum
Thursday, April 27th at 5:30 to 8:00pm
200 Church
The Take Back the Night Student of Color Pre-Forum will be a discussion around issues of sexual assault and how it affects the SOC community. People of all genders are welcome but we appreciate it if only students who identify as SOC attend. Food will be served.

For more information on this event, contact Gabby Tynes-Labont at gtyneslabont@wes.

Take Back the Night Rally & March
Thursday, April 27th at 8:00pm
Steps of Olin Library
Take Back the Night is an annual event at Wesleyan University and college campuses nationwide to raise awareness about sexual violence.  This event is an opportunity for the Wesleyan community to gather in support of survivors of sexual assault and for those survivors to share their stories in a safe space. The concept behind "taking back the night" is that the night should be safe for everyone.  Beginning with a rally at the steps of Olin at 8 pm, we will march to several locations on campus for speak-out circles (the Butterfields Courtyard, North College Lawn, and the CFA Courtyard), concluding with a candlelight vigil.  Everyone is encouraged to attend this important and powerful event.
 

Post-March Debriefing Sessions
Midnight (or immediately after the conclusion of the March)
Join one of these informal discussion groups to process what you have experienced at the Take Back the Night March and heard in the Speakout Circles. Student facilitators will be on hand to lead the discussions in these designated safe spaces. Trained advocates from the Sexual Assault Crisis Services will be available for one-on-one counseling and discussion contributions at the locations with an asterisk (*).

  • Womanist House

  • Hewitt 9 Lounge

  • 200 Church

  • Butt C Lounge*

  • Clark Lounge*

The Office of Behavioral Health for Students will be open for any student who wishes to talk with a therapist until 9:00pm on Thursday night during the March. Enter the Davison Health Center from the parking lot (next to Malcolm X House). After this time, students may contact the 24-hour on-call therapist by calling 685-2910 and following the voicemail prompts.

Resources

If you are interested in learning more about sexual assault and related issues, please click on the following links:

If you wish to speak to someone in a confidential setting, please contact:

  • Office of Behavioral Health for Students, x2910
    Davison Health Center, 327 High Street
    www.wesleyan.edu/obhs/
     
  • Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services
    www.connsacs.org
    Connecticut Statewide 24 Hour Toll Free Hotline
    • 1-888-999-5545 English
    • 1-888-568-8332 Español
Recruitment for "Unspeakable Acts"
WesWELL is recruiting current Wesleyan students to perform in the "Unspeakable Acts" skits on sexual assault and relationship violence during New Student Orientation 2006. Click here for more information on getting involved

WesWELL Home

revised 10/01/2009