“Take Back the Night” is a national tradition and used to raise awareness about sexual violence and assault. | Valli Challa/The Cougar
“Cougars Unite, Take Back the Night!” was just one of the chants heard Thursday night while supporters against sexual violence marched through the campus for the annual Take Back the Night event held at Lynn Eusan Park.
The event, hosted by the Women’s Resource Center, is part of a national tradition started in 1975 to raise awareness on sexual assault and violence. About 50 people attended the event, including former students and sexual assault survivors. Others attendees included the Student Feminist Organization, the LGBT Resource Center and the UH Wellness department.
Margot Forney, a graduate assistant for the wellness department, was there to provide information geared toward survivors and victims of violence.
“I think sexual assaults happen, but having events like this one helps get the word out about how to handle yourself in situations like that and how to go about being a victim,” Forney said.
The alleged sexual assault that took place on campus less than a month ago struck a nerve for Victoria Politte, a theater freshman who lives on the floor the incident occurred.
“It did give me a lot of anxiety,” Politte said. “The first week of school, as I was walking to my dorm there was a group of three guys standing around, and one of them tried to kiss me. One of them looked like the guy who was arrested, so it definitely made me worried.”
Student Feminist Organization President Laila Khalili said she attended the event to show support for the survivors of sexual violence and to empower others come forward.
“We’re here to help students navigate through the resources so they know what their rights are,” Khalili said. “We want them to know that they’re not alone.”
Jennifer Galvez, a social work graduate student and incest survivor, said she was happy she attended the event but was disappointed with the crowd turnout.
“I was expecting more people, because more should be aware and support this,” Galvez said. “For a campus of 40,000 students, there should at least be 1,000 here.”
The event concluded with a vigil for Jennifer Olivares, one of the four victims who spoke at the event. Olivares, who was abused for 21 years, advised other survivors who are silent and ashamed to not feel cast out.
“You’re not what people say you are,” Olivares said. “You’re beautiful and amazing, and you’re powerful.”
The rapist who worked at McDonald’s didn’t get the memo that rape is wrong. Who knows if he raped someone before the incident on campus that hit him arrested
I would never invite him into my dorm.
Especially since he fits the description of virtually every rapist at UH
So true. Nobody wants to talk about it though because the truth is racist. I’m a petite Asian girl and literally had to run away from a group of Black guys that tried to rape me in the parking lot. Don’t let them get near you. They usually yell from far away to naive girls like ” Hey can I axe u sumfin?” and get as close as possible to you. Many girls are too scared to seem racist and let them get near them, when they would otherwise tell a White or Asian guy to get lost. Once the rapist is within reach of the girl, its too late. Getting raped is worse than being a racist. I don’t care what anyone says.
Why is your nickname “Smart Cookie”? You should probably change it to something like “Racist Bigot”, it fits you much better. The comments on this thread are just downright offensive. Has this guy already been tried and convicted? I’m appalled and disgusted that any of you assholes commenting on this thread are actually considered to be “educated”.
Chances are he raped before this incident.
How about this: instead of doing this whole limpwristed “teach guys not to rape” bullshit, yall teach people good judgement that doesn’t put them in situations where they can get raped. Because you could preach until you’re red in the face to a rapist about how he shouldn’t rape, and he’ll probably go out and rape some chick the next day anyways.
How about being honest and less politically correct and connect the dots between the racial profiles of the rapists on campus?
Look at all the football and basketball players that are rapists. Universities give free rides to low IQ illiterate idiots that run around after a ball like a bunch of morons to the amusement of the dumbed-down masses. The rapist and murderer Jesse Mathews raped a girl at the college where he was a football player. He got off since he was playing sports , which is considered by stupid people in American universities as a contribution to humanity. After he raped the women, he progressed to raping and murdering two white female college students Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington.
Look at the gentlemen who get scholarships so that they can rape female students.
Jameis Winston, Treon Harris, Kendall Sanders, Montrel Meander, William Houston, Brandon Austin, Damyean Dotson(proud Houstonian), Dominic Artis, Pat Swilling, Kwamain Mitchell, Willie Reed, Darrell Williams, Gary Clark, Jeremy Posey, and many more.
Deondre Skinner would have raped female students at UH as a scholarship awarded athlete , but was arrested for raping a 14 year old girl.
Bringing rapist football and basketball players to universities is more important than keeping them out of a place where there are many young and vunerable female students. I’m surprised that nobody has a sign saying “Go rapists!” at the games.
There are more males being raped than women in the United States. This mostly occurs in prisons. These crimes are committed by members of the LGBTQ+ community. The rapists are homosexual/bisexual men and the victims are usually heterosexual men. When considering the relative small minority of the LGBT community in the United States, they represent a disproportionately large part of the rapists in the United States.
My straight uncle was gang-raped by bisexual men in prison. Some of the rapists had AIDS and probably spread it to their female sex partners out of prison. Many of these men continue to have sex with their boyfriends when they are released from prison. The LGBTQ+ activists want to keep these crimes under the radar by disowning these non-heterosexuals as not part of their community, yet they will claim any deceased artist or scientist as “gay” using only rumors without any solid proof.
If it weren’t for the large gay and bi prison population, inmate on inmate rape would drop to zero.
Great News! Big Sean is coming to UH. His songs are very respectful towards women:
“Ass Shake, Ass shake. Yeah I like that ass shake. Ya’ll bitches won’t
show me love. I know ya’ll hoes ain’t that fake. A real G believe
that… I’m already big now I’m fina be on (three stacks). She on that
superman. Blue and red cop car… Pop off. And I can’t feel shit but my
dick in your bitch.”
I wonder if Billy Robinson is a fan
http://1c71hb3in51z3g8k1j1nogrdvsm.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/warrant-225×300.jpg