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Take Back the Night Rally and March Oct. 9

October 2, 2008

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MACOMB, IL - - As part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Western Illinois University Women's Center and the Western Illinois Regional Council-Community Action Agency (WIRC-CAA) Victim Services, along with numerous campus and community offices and organizations, will hold the 19th annual Take Back the Night (TBTN) march and rally Thursday, Oct. 9.

According to Heather McCoy, Women's Center graduate assistant and TBTN planning committee chair, the event is held each year to increase awareness of, and seek to end, domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence, as well as to remember and honor victims and survivors. This year's theme is "Break the Silence, Stop the Violence."

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Sherman Hall circle drive, featuring resource table displays created by campus and community organizations that provide violence prevention efforts and support services to victims and survivors. University Counseling Center and WIRC-Victim Services staff and volunteers will be available at the march and rally to talk with participants if needed.

The rally will begin at 7 p.m. on the steps of Sherman Hall with a reading of a proclamation signed by WIU President Al Goldfarb and Macomb Mayor Mick Wisslead. The rally will also feature performers and guest speakers, including WIU alumna and social worker Mary Garrison, and WIU employee Lori Menke.

Garrison earned her B.A. in sociology at WIU in 1989, and her Master's in Social Work (MSW) at the University of Illinois. An assistant professor of social work at Millikin University, Garrison has more than 15 years of direct practice, supervision, and administration experience within the human service field, with 12 years in the mental health field.

As an undergraduate student at Western in the late 1980s, Garrison was sexually assaulted by an acquaintance. She will share her inspiring story of how she went from being a victim to a survivor and her subsequent personal and professional life experiences. In addition to being a student orientation leader, a Student Ambassador, and a resident assistant while at Western, Garrison co-founded the Students Against Sexual Assault (SASA) organization, which predated Beu's Peer Health Educators and the Feminist Action Alliance student organization.

After graduating from Western, she was a victim advocate/victim-witness coordinator with the McDonough County State's Attorney's office in Macomb for several years. She is involved in research, focusing on the outcomes of sexually inappropriate behaviors with college students as well as examining the coping strategies related to sexually inappropriate behaviors students experience in high school.

Menke, a graduate of Spoon River College and a wife and mother, was sexually assaulted at the age of 19 by a police officer in another state. She says it has taken many years of therapy and soul-searching to find the confidence to share her story.

"We must, as a society, begin talking openly regarding sexual assault and domestic violence, and we must educate the younger generations about appropriate and inappropriate behaviors to break the cycle of abuse," Menke said. "I hope that in sharing my story, others who have not dealt with their own experiences will understand that until you deal with the issues head-on, you are still being controlled by the abuser–whether he or she is actively in your present life or not."

She says she also hopes those who haven't yet sought counseling will be inspired to do so in order to facilitate their own transitions from victims to survivors, in order to regain control and lead more satisfying and fulfilling lives.

Performers at this year's event will include WIU student Liz Theilemann, alumna Jessica Mason McFadden, singer Dana Perry, and student poet and Cultural Expressions member Andrea Swift.

The march will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. The route, which will be lined with luminaries, will go south through the Sherman Lawn, east on Adams Street to Charles Street, south on Charles to Calhoun, east on Calhoun to MacArthur, south on MacArthur, crossing the railroad tracks, then east on Carroll to Lafayette. From there, it will make a loop around the square and will come back to Chandler Park where the rally will continue at the Gazebo around 8 p.m. Anyone who would like to participate but is unable to walk the route should contact the Women's Center prior to the march to sign up to ride in a van that will be provided.

Participants may purchase light sticks for $1 to carry in honor of victims and survivors of rape, incest, domestic violence, sexual abuse and other forms of sexual violence. Take Back the Night T-shirts will also be available for purchase for $8 (short-sleeved) or $10 (long-sleeved). These items will also be for sale in the University Union Concourse from 11 a.m.-3 p.m Oct. 6-8 and at the Women's Center (Seal Hall 320).

"We encourage groups to bring their own banners that proudly declare their support of, and presence at, the event," McCoy said. "We also encourage people to make donations for luminaries in honor and memory of friends and family members who have been victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence."

Suggested donations for luminaries are $2.

The WIRC-CAA Victim Services Program provides free and confidential services in a safe environment for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Hancock, Henderson, McDonough and Warren counties. The department's trained staff provide emergency services, advocacy, counseling, professional training and public education.

For more information, contact the Women's Center at 309/298-2242 or WIRC-Victim Services at (309) 837-6622, or via e-mail at womenscenter@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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