Students rallied in front of the Pegasus statue on the Spine last Thursday to raise awareness about sexual assault, marking an annual tradition as part of an ongoing fight to “Take Back the Night.”

Organized by the Feminist Collective, the rally was part of a week of programming to amplify the voices of survivors and offer a safe environment for individuals to share their stories. About 20 students held signs, reading “We hear you,” “Coercion ≠ consent” and “No means no,” among other phrases. After some speeches, the group walked down the Spine, making a loop around campus and chanting.

“The rally is a really good place to create a presence on campus and show that we care about this issue and that other people should, hence why we’re also making posters,” said Hannah Nahmias, the vice president of FemCo and a senior majoring in sociology. “And we didn’t really get to experience that and show that last year, so I’m really hopeful that this year will be different because I think it’s a really important thing.”

Mia DeVito, the president of FemCo and a senior majoring in sociology, said the organization relocated the rally this year to its location on the Spine and held it in the middle of the day to increase visibility and invite more people to participate. While she said she was happy FemCo helped some students last year through its programming, she wanted to reach more people this year.

There is a reason why sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes, DeVito added, and fostering safe spaces can allow survivors to feel understood and empathize with one another.

“There is a lot of stigma, but there is also a lot of normalization of these awful, demeaning, diminishing behaviors,” DeVito said.

Beth Riley, a representative from the Violence, Abuse and Rape Crisis Center, spoke at the rally, highlighting the services they offer, including trauma-informed counseling. She added that students can meet with a confidential advocate from the Crime Victims Assistance Center and a University advocate, a private resource.

Next, a faculty member said that in her time at the University, beginning as a graduate student in the 1980s, she had seen changes in policies to prevent sexual assault, like implementing blue-light telephones around campus. She said that these policies were not enough and there needed to be changes in “the culture of abuse and rape” through “education and learning.”

A student said that sexual assault was “not a woman’s issue, it’s not a girl’s issue, it’s a human rights issue.” She criticized the University for “turn[ing] a blind eye” and called for changes to sexual assault policies, like releasing lists of unaffiliated fraternities that faced sexual assault allegations.

The University did not return Pipe Dream’s request for comment.

Throughout the week, FemCo organized several events dedicated to raising awareness about sexual assault on campus. On Tuesday, attendees wrote supportive messages and spread awareness of sexual assault at a “Chalk the Spine” event. A poster-making workshop was then held on Wednesday, and after the rally, survivors came together to share stories in a Survivor Speak Out event.

Nahmias said “communal and collective action” propels power and spaces like FemCo can make that power active. She said students can forget these spaces exist, but they still have a voice on campus.

DeVito said she was surprised to receive as many supportive responses from faculty members as she did after reaching out about FemCo’s programming, with many remembering the event in years past.

“A lot of people view sexual assault as always an extreme, sensationalized experience, when in reality, you can be sexually assaulted by your boyfriend,” Nahmias said. “You can be sexually assaulted by people who trust you and even respect you in other scenarios. And I think that that shows the importance of events like ours, where you can sit down and speak to other people.”