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| 4/28/2010 11:51:00 AM Email this article • Print this article | |
Ithaca's campuses, community uniting to Take Back The Night
Rob Montana
Managing Editor
For the 31st year, Ithaca community members will be gathering to take back the night at the annual Take Back the Night March and Rally.
The event, starting with music by Judy Stock at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29, will feature not one but three marches converging on the Bernie Milton Pavilion on the Commons. The marches will step off around 7 p.m. at Washington Park in Ithaca, Textor Hall at Ithaca College and Ho Plaza at Cornell University, meeting on the Commons at 7:30 p.m.
"Take Back the Night is an opportunity for the community to come together to speak out against violence, specifically domestic and sexual violence," said Patty Tvaroha, adult community educator for the Advocacy Center in Ithaca. "This is actually the 31st anniversary of Take Back the Night in Tompkins County. It's a pretty longstanding tradition here."
Asked why she thought there has been such support for the cause for more than three decades, Tvaroha said it speaks to a community of people "who truly care about the issues and want to make a difference."
"They want to have this opportunity to say these things are not OK," she said. "They feel, 'We need to speak out and support survivors of violence and hopefully prevent sexual and domestic violence from happening to others.'"
The joint community-campus interaction also is a plus, Tvaroha said.
"It's an opportunity for a real joining of forces, so to speak, for people to be able to come together and support this cause," she said.
And that joint effort will be evident when marches launching from the three different locations - one expecting to see a bulk of community participants, the other two on each of Ithaca's higher education campuses - coming together at the solitary destination of the Commons's Bernie Milton Pavilion.
"It's a great visual opportunity to show the unit that Take Back the Night offers people," Tvaroha said. "They will all come to the Commons and the rally begins at 7:30."
In addition to the performance by Stock before the rally, Tvaroha said there are some scheduled speakers. Those include Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson offering a proclamation in support of Take Back the Night, as well as others presenting information for those who may need assistance for domestic or sexual violence.
"We have a few different scheduled speakers that will speak to specifically what they can offer survivors and present prevention messages," Tvaroha said. "There also will be the opportunity for people to take the microphone and speak out about the way domestic and sexual violence has impacted their lives."
Not only has Ithaca surpassed the three-decade mark for hosting a Take Back the Night event, it also has been recognized by the national Take Back the Night organization as one of its 10 Points Of Light this year, along with the likes of events at Brown University, Harvard University, Kansas University, Kent State University and the University of Texas-El Paso.
"This year is a special year for us, since we are of the 10 Points of Light here in Ithaca, out of over 400 communities that do marches across the country," Tvaroha said. "The national foundation chose 10 and Ithaca was one of the 10 chosen.
"It's just a recognition by the foundation that we're doing good work here in Tompkins County," she added.
And the local rally will be syncing up its candlelight vigil with the other nine communities chosen as Points of Light, with all 10 lighting their candles at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
"It's really just a way to show that unity (we're advocating at Take Back the Night)," Tvaroha said, "and kind of spreading it further than just our little community."
The Tompkins County Take Back the Night is sponsored by the Take Back the Night Collective, Advocacy Center, Ithaca College Feminist Majority, Cornell Women's Resource Center, and Planned Parenthood of the Southern Fingerlakes.
For more information about this year's Take Back the Night event, call Tvaroha at (607) 277-3203, e-mail ithacatakebackthenight2010@gmail.com or visit its Facebook event page, "Ithaca Take Back the Night."
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