As the sun went down on New Brunswick last Thursday, nearly 100 women took George Street by storm as they marched in support of women's rights as part of the Take Back the Night event.
"Women Unite! Take back the Night!" "Show me what community looks like! This is what community looks like!" participants chanted.
The rally began at Voorhees Chapel on Douglass campus and spread onto George Street, ultimately ending on the steps of Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus.
Rutgers College sophomore Elizabeth Genne-Bacon said there is more violence against women than homosexuals and blacks combined. She said she believes the walk will help raise awareness.
University College sophomore Brenda Yalley said she believes walks such as these help empower society. "If women don't come together to unite, men will do violence against women," she said.
Robyn Mate, an organizer for the event, said the first Reclaim the Night march was held in Belgium in 1976 by the women attending the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women. The first known Take Back the Night, which was held in the United States, was organized in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 1978.
Take Back the Night happens every year on college campuses all over the United States.
Yalley believes the event addresses an issue of empowerment and dominance.
Douglass College class of 2006 alumna Moiyathu Banya said, "Because of social implications with historical matters, it will take women time to get to the level of men."
She added that women are doing a lot at the grass-roots level.
"If there is stronger dialogue between women, policy will be created," Banya said.
Take the Back the Night was created to educate the community on violence against women, Mate said.
"Patriarchy is alive and well. As a feminist it is my job to create a space for women to have a choice - to do whatever they want," Mate said.
Mate said there have been many examples of violence against women, such as the comments of Don Imus and most recently, the Virginia Tech shooting.
She pointed out the shooter went out to look for and kill his girlfriend. She also said the same day the Virginia Tech shooting happened, a girl from Columbia Graduate School was raped and burned. "Women are still getting hurt," she said.
"When we march to protest violence against women, this is not limited to domestic violence. In fact, we specifically stated at the rally that we march to protest [all] forms of violence against women. This includes, verbal, emotional and physical harm," Mate said.
"The issues that face women today range from making 76 cents on the dollar, to rape, to violence," Mate said.
Mate said domestic violence is not just an American woman's issue - it is a worldwide issue.
"I really need to emphasize again that this march is not just about domestic violence," Mate said. "[Domestic] violence is one of many kinds of violence committed every day against women."
Mate illustrated her point by mentioning a more global perspective on the issue.
"Why are women being raped in Darfur as part of a strategic military tactic to enforce ethnic cleansing? Why are women and girls trafficked every day? The subjugation of women takes place every day all over the world. We are [not] in a post-feminist era when a woman grad student is abducted off," she said.
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