Take Back the Night, a two-hour two-part discussion presented by the Union College Women’s Union about sexual assault and domestic violence, took place on May 24.

The first part took place in the Nott Memorial and consisted of a series of speeches followed by a silent march to Hale House.

The next part of the event consisted of those who had been affected by sexual violence, including survivors and their friends, sharing their stories.

“I’m here to stand in solidarity with women who have been affected by violence on college campuses,” Women’s Union President Christie Dionisos ’19 said. “It will not be tolerated.”

Assistant Professor of English Jennifer Mitchell spoke about the power of #MeToo, a social media campaign that helped expose widespread sexual harassment, including harassment  perpetrated by wealthy and prominent men.

Mitchell stated that although #MeToo contributed to Bill Cosby’s prosecution and long charges being raised against R. Kelly, sexual harassment was still a day-to-day problem for many women.

When discussing this, Mitchell said that it was important for women and all victims of sexual harassment to “take back the night, but also take back the day, take back the office and dates.”

Afterwards, a TED talk by Lone Wells was shown. Wells had been violently assaulted while walking home from a subway station after a party.

At the time of the assault, Wells was the involved with the school paper at Oxford College and published a letter detailing her place in the community and all the people her attacker had harmed by attacking her.

She referenced the July 7 London Bombings, or the 7/7 tube bombings, at the end of her speech.

After the attacks, the Mayor of London at the time, Ken Livingstone, told people to go back to using public transportation and to continue living their lives without fear.

Similarly, Wells stated that she would not let her attacker isolate her and prevent her from living her life.

The second portion of the event was a sharing of stories. This followed the silent march from the Nott to Hale House.

These stories were shared in confidentiality. People spoke of their experiences with sexual assault in depth to push for change.

People also spoke on the decisions regarding the coverage of such incidences and how their interactions with their friends and peers changed after the incident.

“Violence against one person is violence against everyone, and I feel personally impacted by every