English junior Elaine Collins felt alone and ashamed after she was sexually assaulted.

At Take Back the Night last year, she stepped up to the open mic to talk about her experience and saw a group of people who were encouraging and understood what she was going through. The shame started to go away.

“The biggest thing that Take Back the Night did for me was give me some comfort to let me know that there were people out there that cared and there were people fighting,” Collins said.

Collins has been helping with this year’s Take Back the Night, an event coordinated by UK’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Center that begins at 7 p.m. Monday. UK’s event is part of an international event intended to protest rape and other forms of sexual violence.

This year’s rally, with the theme “The Sun is Gone, but I Have a Light,” will have several different parts:

• A march will begin at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall. Marchers will go down Central Campus, turning left at Avenue of Champions and left again on South Limestone, finishing back at Memorial Hall. Unlike last year’s, the march will not be silent.
• A vigil will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall. For the first 45 minutes, people who have planned speeches will take the stage. The last 15 minutes will be open to anyone who wants to speak.
• A concert by local band Groove Manifesto is planned from 8:30 p.m. to about 9 p.m

Organizer McKenzie Thompson said the concert is a new addition and will add a celebratory feel to the end of Take Back the Night.

“I think it’s really important for us to spread the message that this is nothing to be ashamed of,” said Thompson, a psychology senior. “That people get up and speak out, that’s something to celebrate.”

Collins has also been working on a project placing blank journals around campus for people to share personal experiences or offer words of encouragement to survivors. Journals will also be at Take Back the Night.

Anyone interested in volunteering for this year’s event can come to the VIP Center at 5:30 p.m. or Memorial Hall at 6 p.m.