“UK unite! Take back the night!”

UK students, faculty and members of the Lexington community chanted this and other phrases, such as, “However we dress and wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no,” as they marched through campus and downtown Lexington to show their support of survivors of sexual assault. 

The marchers led groups to the Memorial Hall amphitheater for the 2016 Take Back the Night, an annual event sponsored by Support|Peer|Activism|Resources|Connection.

Member of SPARC and English and arts administration senior Ashley Dunomes said SPARC is an extension of UK’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Center. 

“We are just a group of student activists who put on rallies and educational programs informing campus of consent culture and rape culture and healthy relationships,” Dunomes said. 

In addition to the marches, event attendees were encouraged to sign a wall and take a pledge to promote consent culture, sign a rape culture banner with issues they see in their community and submit their own stories of sexual violence to read themselves or have a SPARC member read to the crowd. 

One student who shared her story during the event was Zoe Dapore, a biology freshman. She shared her story to be a role model for her younger sister.

“I think that no matter who you are, no matter your ethnicity or race or your religion or anything else that can divide people, you are still a human being who deserves basic respect,” Dapore said. “And I believe even though I identify as a woman, I have a right to be safe on this campus.”

UK President Eli Capilouto, future Student Government Association President Rowan Reid and future SGA Vice President Ben Childress attended. 

Before the event started, Capilouto spoke to the crowd. He has attended previous Take Back the Nights and said UK had been “doing a lot” before he arrived.  

“When I attended this event five years ago, faces were put on all that data,” Capilouto said. “When those courageous victims came forward to share their stories, that certainly motivated me that night and it motivates me every day.”

Capilouto said UK is working to address sexual assault on campus in many ways such as collecting data at a “granular” level through the C.A.T.S. survey, creating more targeted intervention, hiring more counselors and more.

“We certainly look at the numbers, but when you hear the story of a victim survivor you are reminded again of the criticality of preventing what can be a life-shattering event,” Capilouto said.

Reid said she became inspired by the stories of survivors and hopes to address sexual assault issues at UK during her term. 

Childress led a group of marchers from The 90 to Memorial Hall. He and Reid became involved with Take Back the Night at the request of a SPARC member.

“(Sexual assault) is certainly something we both care about deeply and recognize as an issue in our culture and on campuses across the nation,” Childress said.