Promoting awareness, supporting survivors
Pards Against Sexual Assault (PASA), a student-led organization dedicated to educating the Lafayette community on the culture that surrounds sexual misconduct, held its annual Take Back the Night (TBTN) events this past week, demonstrating solidarity and awareness through a series of interactive events.
Take Back the Night is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that takes action against sexual violence and intimate partner violence.
The kickoff event, a 5K run on campus, included participating students wearing T-shirts with sales benefitting Crime Victims Council of the Lehigh Valley and Turning Point Lehigh Valley.
“This year, we organized a 5K run, the clothesline project which took place in Farinon, and then ended the week with a keynote panel discussion and a vigil following immediately after,” says Libby Mayer ’22, PASA co-president. “We intentionally plan a wide range of events so that survivors and allies on our campus can choose how they can best be a part of TBTN as we acknowledge that this can be a challenging subject, and we want everyone to be involved in a way that feels good for them. The 5K has been a part of PASA’s TBTN for a few years now and serves as a way for people to physically involve themselves in the week. We begin the race by explaining the background of TBTN and encourage everyone to run with a grounded purpose. It allows for people to take 30-45 minutes out of their day to be removed from the stress of classes and extracurriculars and take a moment to reflect upon how we can make survivors feel seen and supported and how we can work to end sexual assault and gender-based violence on our campus.”
Photos by Caroline Burns ’22
