Published: November 13, 2009 12:09 am         

Indiana State students rally for ‘Take Back the Night’

TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State University students united to “take back the night” Thursday night on the ISU campus.

ISU students marched across campus, carried signs and chanted “There’s no excuse for abuse,” and other anti-domestic violence slogans after a 40-minute “Take Back the Night” rally at Dede Plaza.

Statistics indicate several victims of domestic and sexual abuse were present in the large crowd outside the Hulman Memorial Student Union building, said Hailee Lauritzen, a guest speaker at the rally from Michigan. Between 400 and 500 students stood in the cool night air and listened as Lauritzen and other speakers told of the effects of domestic violence and the need to educate people about the problem.

One out of six American women have been victims of rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes, according to Take Back the Night, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and helping victims of domestic abuse.

“There is hope,” Lauritzen said. “We can make a change. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Lauritzen, who was raped about 10 years ago, is a sexual assault therapist for Relief After Violent Encounters, a Michigan-based organization. She told the audience that for eight years after being raped, she was “angry,” experienced flashbacks and often blamed herself for what had happened. It took her nearly a decade to even admit she had been raped, she said.

“Domestic violence and sexual assault go hand-in-hand,” Lauritzen said. “It’s about power and control” of one person over another, she said.

Also at the rally, Bernie McGee of Terre Haute sang “How Come So Long,” a song about domestic violence and the violent death of a young woman at the hands of the man she loved. While he sang, images of victims of domestic abuse were shown on an outdoor video screen.

“Fear is a terrible, terrible thing,” said ISU President Dan Bradley, who spoke at the beginning of the rally. “Physical abuse is the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “Psychological abuse is far, far worse in many cases,” he said.

Joshua Phillips, another speaker at the rally, told the rally that 99 percent of the perpetrators of domestic violence are men. Phillips, who walked 1,800 miles from Miami to Boston to raise awareness about domestic abuse, urged the crowd to resist domestic violence in their everyday lives and conversations.

“We must take it one step at a time,” Phillips said.

After the rally, the students took dozens of signs and started marching across the campus chanting anti-domestic-violence slogans. The march left Dede Plaza and headed for Lincoln Quadrangle and then to North Seventh Street. The evening was to end with a candlelight pledge to resist domestic violence.

Take Back the Night rallies and marches began in the 1970s in Europe and North America. In addition to raising awareness about domestic violence, Thursday’s rally also raised donations for the Council on Domestic Abuse in Vigo County.

“We can work together to put an end to domestic violence,” Lauritzen said. “Together, we can all work to do this.”

For more information on Take Back the Night, see www.takebackthenight.org.

Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.