Sexual violence on campus: TBTN supports kinship at Barnard, across genders

Today, April 14, hundreds of Columbia students will gather at the Barnard Gates to march the streets of Morningside Heights with one shared goal: to reclaim the streets as a safe place, free of sexual violence. The march, well-known to Columbia students, is Take Back the Night—a national event that has taken place on campus every April since its founding at Barnard in 1988. Over the past three years in particular, organizers have emphasized the role of women in leading TBTN over the years while also making the march increasingly inclusive of the entire University.

Though the event’s goal to reclaim the streets and raise awareness of sexual violence has remained constant over the years, the basic structure of TBTN has changed. The march is currently in its fourth year of a pilot program to make the event more gender-neutral. The front group that carries the TBTN banner is still all-female, but all individuals, regardless of gender identification, are allowed to take part in the march. Beginning this year, people of any gender will be allowed to help marshal the parade.

This year’s organizers, Jennifer Levinson, BC/JTS ’11, and Gita Deo, BC ’12, said that this year’s march is about “really engaging the community.” In the past, the march has been attended by students, professors, administrators, and Barnard’s President Debora Spar, along with other neighbors in the Morningside Heights community. This year, Levinson noted, fliers were posted in both English and Spanish to encourage more of the Morningside Heights community to attend.

The challenge of maintaining a community feel, especially on a campus as diverse as Columbia, is one of the main reasons for the event, especially for Barnard students. While TBTN is aware that sexual assault affects all genders negatively, Levinson noted that it “affects primarily women,” and that for many Barnard students, a march against sexual assault is a unifying cause for its small student body.

Maddie Wolberg, BC ’13 and a Spectator copy staffer, agrees that TBTN is a rallying point for Barnard students. “There’s something cool and empowering of taking over the streets, especially since we’re a women’s college,” Wolberg said. Levinson also noted that the event is a favorite on Barnard campus. “People have come up to me and said, ‘It’s [TBTN] the one time I feel like there is a community on campus,” Levinson said.

The opportunity to engage with such a large part of campus can be especially significant for first-years. Having seen the various fliers posted around campus, Leah Metcalf, BC ’14, said, “I’m ready to be empowered by the whole force of Barnard, especially after Debora Spar’s e-mail.” Di He, a visiting student to Barnard from China, also noted how inspired she felt by the publicity on campus. “I don’t think schools are solving problems like this in China,” she said. “People here are trying their best to keep the streets safe.”

Levinson hopes that all participants will be able to take away a sense of empowerment, regardless of their intention for marching. One of the strengths of TBTN is that it reaches out to a variety of campus communities, in hopes that they can unite into one in the name of saying “no” to sexual assault. “The goal is to rally everyone behind the cause and to raise awareness,” Levinson said, “to empower everyone in the community to see that each person is powerful.”