Posted and Written on March 26, 2019 by sambam226
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the Women's Center is hosting its 7th Take Back the Night on Thursday, April 13th. Over the years, we've had a lot of questions about what Take Back the Night exactly is, why it looks the way it does, and how students can get involved. To help get those questions answered we started the 'What You Need to Know" series focused on TBTN from 2019 and are continuing on the tradition, so stay tuned for more posts over the next couple of weeks. This blog focuses on the evening's campus march against sexual violence.
1,2,3,4 WE WON'T TAKE IT ANYMORE
5,6,7,8 NO MORE VIOLENCE! NO MORE HATE!
As a survivor of sexual assault, the Take Back The Night march reminds me that I'm not alone.
Mariana De Matos Medeiros, '16, and former student staff member at the Women's Center, said "To me, having the opportunity to speak and march at TBTN last year reminded me that I am not alone and that I can stand in my power to speak about my experience. It took me 3 years to finally speak about my assault and one of the very first times was at TBTN last year. Seeing so many gathered to support allowed me to speak and speaking has allowed me to heal."
It can be easy to blame yourself, isolate yourself, and feel like you're the only person struggling with your healing; However, the march lets you connect with people who support you and believe you.
Sarah Lilly, a 2016 and 2017 Take Back The Night student leader says "Marching is us showing that solidarity is a verb, and it brings me great pride to feel so supported by my local UMBC community and to see the unconditional support for everyone else in our community."
In an open letter in her school's newspaper, survivor and student activist, Angie Epifano, recounted the aftermath of her sexual assault, namely her experience with institutional betrayal. She ended the letter with, "Silence has the rusty taste of shame." Due to rape culture, victim blaming, a lack of support for survivors, and more, it is understandable that many survivors do not disclose their experience and sexual assault is rarely spoke of in public.
Much like the Baltimore-based Monument Quilt is creating and demanding public space for survivors to heal, Take Back the Night demands for space in which we will not be shamed into silence. Activists like Angie, the Monument Quilt creators, and YOU during the march are creating a new culture where survivors are publicly supported, rather than publicly shamed.
Here's some helpful information about the campus march against sexual violence to those attending Take Back the Night at UMBC:
Stay tuned for the next installment of what you need to know about TBTN 2019!
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the Women’s Center is hosting its 5th consecutive Take Back The Night (TBTN) on Thursday, April 13th. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of questions about what Take Back the Night exactly is, why it looks the way it does, and how students can get involved. To help get those questions answered this year, we’ve doing a “What You Need to Know” series focused on TBTN so stay tuned for more posts over the next couple of weeks. This first post in the series focuses on the history and purpose of TBTN.
The crowd waiting for UMBC’s TBTN 2014 to begin.In 1971 in New York a group of women and survivors hosted the first-ever rape speak-out that was organized by the group the New York Radical Feminists. A few years later, one of the first “Take Back the Night” marches was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in October 1975.
Despite some advancements and more attention being paid to sexual violence, we still live in a society where over forty-five years later there is still a need to speak out against rape and sexual assault. There is still a need to say, “It happened to me.” “I believe you.” “You are not alone.” “It is not your fault.” And, so this is why we host Take Back the Night each year at UMBC and why it still happens worldwide.
UMBC (from what we can tell from the archives), held their first TBTN event in the early 2000s for just a few years. Campus stopped hosting it for several years so as to be in solidarity with other area colleges by participating in Baltimore City Hall’s Take Back the Night. But, by 2013, it made the most sense for us to bring back our own Take Back the Night. So the Women’s Center with support from UHS’s Health Education, Greek Week, and a BreakingGround grant did just that. Since then, this campus-wide rally and march against sexual violence has been a signature Women’s Center event every April.
Each year the Women’s Center hosts survivor speak-out followed by a campus march against sexual assault. When marchers return, UMBC’s TBTN spends the rest of the evening doing “craftivism” art healing projects and hosting a community resource fair. A smaller version of the Clothesline Project is also serves as a backdrop to the evening’s events.
The survivor speak-out at UMBC’s TBTN 2016Stay tuned for more posts explaining the significance of each portion of Take Back The Night!
The march against sexual violence at UMBC’s TBTN 2015For more information about UMBC’s TBTN (check out Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter too by searching the hashtag #UMBCTBTN):
Registration will open on Wednesday, May 10 at 12PM ET.
Join the National Science Foundation for the Spring 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference, to be held during the week of June 5, 2023.
Just like the in-person grants conferences, the NSF Virtual Grants Conference is a must, especially for new faculty, researchers and administrators.
Highlights include:
The NSF Grants Conference is designed to give new faculty, researchers, and administrators key insights into a wide range of current issues at NSF. NSF staff will provide up-to-date information about policies and procedures, specific funding opportunities and answer attendee questions.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM)
We see you. We believe you. You matter.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month brings people together to create and generate discussion and skill-building on how to prevent sexual violence in our schools, workplaces, and communities. While providing support and care to survivors of sexual violence is an everyday action, this awareness month also carves out intentional moments to honor and believe survivors’ stories and experiences.
For the first time in the few years of this ongoing public health crisis, we are going to be able to physically come together this April to do this critical work. The Women’s Center and all of our campus partners including the Office of Equity and Inclusion, Retriever Integrated Health, Green Dot, and Retriever Courage, and more are passionate about continuing to promote awareness and prevention this month.
And, remember, no matter where you are, dear survivors, we see you. We believe you. You matter. Always.
SAAM Calendar of Events:
Love Quest: Healthy Relationship Fact Find
Mon, April 3rd/ Tues, April 4th, the Commons Main Street 11:30am-1:00pm
We all deserve healthy relationships, but they don’t just happen. You can learn to love better by building your relationship skills, identifying the key characteristics of healthy relationships, and finding resources who can support you! Join the Office of Health Promotion for this healthy relationship fact find. Students can complete the quest anytime between April 3- April 7th. Pick up your quest map at our tables on Monday and Tuesday
Clothesline Project Display and T-Shirt Making
Wed, April 5th: the Commons Main Street 10am-4pm
The Clothesline Project gives voice to the experiences of survivors, victims, family, and friends who have been affected by violence. All are encouraged to attend and participate.Students, faculty, and staff have made t-shirts describing their experience with sexual assault and relationship violence. On Wednesday, April 5th, these t-shirts will be hung shoulder-to-shoulder on a clothesline for public viewing, as if the survivors are there themselves, telling us their stories. Clothesline Project T-shirt making will be available in the Women’s Center throughout the month of April.
We Believe You Discussion Group
Tues, April 11th, Women’s Center Lounge (Commons, #004 next to Dunkin Donuts) 3pm-4pm
The We Believe You Discussion Group creates space to center the experiences of survivors of sexual- and power-based violence. This discussion-based program follows the Women’s Center Brave Space model to provide a welcoming environment and thoughtful community to engage in conversations focused on support and healing for survivors of sexual violence. This group centers the experiences of survivors and their allies;
Office of Healthy Promotions Community Conversations: Consent and Reclaiming Your Body
Wed, April 12th: Women’s Center Lounge (Commons, #004 next to Dunkin Donuts) 12:30pm-1:30pm
A community can be a vital tool to help all of us get through life’s ups and downs and celebrate our big and small moments. Community Conversations is an interactive event that will help students understand the role of community in supporting their well-being and mental health. This conversation will also highlight what it means to “show up” for others.
This Community Conversation will also focus on Sexual Assault Awareness Month and how folks can reclaim their bodies after an assault has occurred.
Thursday, April 13th, the Commons Main Street 5pm-9pm
Mental Health First Aid Training (Online) (Staff and Faculty)
Fri, April 14th, virtual training 9am-4:30pm
A 1-day skills-based training course designed to teach members of the UMBC community how to: 1) recognize signs of mental health or substance use disorders, 2) identify community resources. 3) link people in crisis to the proper resources. For more information, email mentalhealthfirstaid@umbc.edu
Women of Color Collective, Pod Mapping
Thurs, April 20th, Women’s Center Lounge (Commons, #004 next to Dunking Donuts) 12pm-1pm
"Your pod is made up of the people that you would call on if violence, harm or abuse happened to you; or the people that you would call on if you wanted support in taking accountability for violence, harm or abuse that you’ve done; or if you witnessed violence or if someone you care about was being violent or being abused." Join this WoCC Discussion Group to learn more about Pod Mapping.
We Believe You Discussion Group
Tues, April 25th, Women’s Center Lounge (Commons, #004 next to Dunkin Donuts) 3pm-4pm
The We Believe You Discussion Group creates space to center the experiences of survivors of sexual- and power-based violence. This discussion-based program follows the Women’s Center Brave Space model to provide a welcoming environment and thoughtful community to engage in conversations focused on support and healing for survivors of sexual violence. This group centers the experiences of survivors and their allies;
Bystander Intervention Training
Fri, April 28th, the Commons #331 1pm-5pm
A green dot is any behavior, choice or action that promotes safety for everyone and communicates utter intolerance for sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, and stalking. A green dot is simply your individual choice at any given moment to make our campus safer. Your contribution is necessary. Your voice is powerful. Your commitment is our hope. Together, let’s end some violence. There’s no day like today. No one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something.
By: Zerubbabel Abiy
Photo Credit: Javier Villanueva-Diaz
Recently we got the chance to sit down and speak with Junior Javier Villanueva-Diaz about his experiences within the Media and Communication Studies department, the things he's learned and incorporating his passions within his studies.
For those of us who don't know who you are, could you tell us just a little bit about yourself?
My name is Javier. I am a junior here at UMBC, I am a media and communications major with a minor in music. I'm a dual citizen with Mexican and American citizenship and I have a fascination with pop culture in both countries and I love music.
Oh really? So you were born in Mexico and you came to America?
No, I was born here, my parents moved to a ranch in Jalisco when I was a kid to help my granddad get residency in the United States to live with my family in California.
Why did you choose MCS?
I was attracted to the media and communication department after reading Edward Bernays Propaganda book, and realized I had a liking for how things are portrayed in the media. My favorite course I’ve taken is Modern Public Relations. Public relations was one of my favorite classes because it’s a field that I am interested in after graduating. I also like the way Prof. Eagle taught the class. He made it simple and went straight to the point, teaching us to write press releases and pitch emails, and also how to execute a public relation class. My main takeaway was to write as little as possible and also as clearly as possible. I also do data collection with Dr. Talbert-Goldstein
What are some of the projects that you've worked on here at UMBC
Well it is my involvement with Catholic retrievers and the religious council and helping out any way I can and my internship with the Athletic department… I work in broadcasting but I still don't know what I'm doing outside of showing up and being ready to do anything. My personal projects are also stressing me out, no one said that the media and public relations work was super hard.
What about it is stressful? And could you explain what you do for those that don't know?
Well I am a music minor like I said before but I'm also a musician and I've been struggling to hunt down my target audience, what event venues promote indie artists, which radios I should reach out to. I can self-publish but if i don't have an audience to throw it out too it's just pointless. A lot of advice I have been getting about self-promotion has primarily focused around social media and tik tok and that's a little annoying, especially with people in the music industry giving me that advice because it seems as if they care more about following in number when actually what should matter is music. But I'm still new to making music, with only a year and a half of experience, so I still have a long way to go.
Obviously music is very important to you.
Yeah goes back to when I was a kid and my parents came back to America. My dad used to take me to karaoke bars and I entered a contest and I won and that got me a contract with a local radio station and throughout the DC area I would perform at latin festivals as a mariachi at a very young age. Now my music is influenced by Rancheros, Latin rock, Rock with RnB and Reggaeton.
Oh so your Mariachi?
Yeah I used to play Rancheras which is music from the ranch. It's technically country music for Mexicans but we played with an orchestra because we're a little bit more refined. Fun fact and official Mariachi is no less than 11 players so if you see a Mariachi with 5 players they’re cheating you because they know that Americans don't know any better.
Wow so it seems like your culture means a lot to you... Is there any Mexican media that you've been consuming lately?
Yeah there's a lot of podcasts I've been listening to but recently there's a Mexican TV show I've been watching called Belascoarán. It's this detective series set in 1970s Mexico City and this detective is basically trying to find stranglers and at the same time dealing with the corruption of the Mexican police, it's very interesting.
If you left campus today and never came back again what would be the one lesson you take away from your experience here at UMBC.
Finding out how to market myself. But no matter the promotion a good song will prevail no matter what.
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