Rape, sexual assault, incest, domestic violence. Junior Emily Buss, president of OVE+R, which stands for Overcoming Violence Empowering Positive Relationships, wants to make sure the messages of many are not suppressed.
“We should never have to fear this … no longer are we silenced,” she said.

Many people came to prove Buss’s ideals last Friday for the second annual “Take Back the Night” event.

As people came entered the Fieldhouse, two sights greeted them. First was “Project Clothesline,” a clothesline adorned with shirts made by survivors of abuse and those who support them. White shirts symbolized death caused by to violence, green for survivors of incest, purple for those who have been attacked due to their sexual orientation and red for rape survivors.

 

Second was a poster that said, “Tonight we will take back …”

Underneath the poster, people wrote statements elaborating on the topic.

The event began with a prayer by Cindy Nielsen, an alum of Loras College and a survivor of domestic violence. Next Josh Jasper, CEO of the Riverview Center,  spoke and brought forth his personal experiences. He talked  of interacting with high school students about being an “active bystander.”

Then he explained his counseling of a young girl who confessed to him that she had been raped and was now afraid to attend college because she thought she would be raped again.

Jasper talked about how April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and how perpetrators are “not born to do this … you learn this stuff.” He concluded with the statement, “Each person knows someone who has been a victim of sexual assault; for those who think they don’t, they just haven’t heard anyone confess yet.”

After Jasper’s speech, a satirical skit was performed in which references to rape were replaced with expressions such as “being kicked in the groin” and “thwomped.” People were allowed to laugh, but quickly the laughter died down as people realized how even though the action and word had changed, the horror and outcomes had not.

After the skit was a reading from the preface of the popular novel and play “The Vagina Monologues.” The reading was aimed to help encourage people to talk about topics often deemed “unmentionable” by society.

Soon after, stories of sexual assault and incest were told, with some speakers telling their stories out in front of a crowd for the very first time. With tears in their eyes they shared their horror stories, inspiring everyone listening not to turn their heads.

Even those who weren’t survivors spoke, telling about friends or family members who had been attacked, or just reading poems in support.

Even with the stories told and the damage done, Buss reminded the crowd of how catastrophic sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence really are.

“Who would think anyone would do something like that?” she asked. “It never goes away!”

The evening concluded with a “walk of solidarity” symbolizing the support survivors had from others. The walk led into the  Fieldhouse for a candlelight vigil, with everyone in a circle. A single candle was lit and the rest drew their light from that one, symbolizing how a little bit of hope can go a long way.

Nielsen summed it up best, saying, “There is hope at the end of that tunnel.”

 

            Although not that many couples were actually present, there was a reasonable crowd to watch musician Andrew Ripp perform acoustic songs as a “Date Night” event.

It did not seem like much a date night though. Besides the lack of couples there were other problems with the surroundings. Though the tables were covered in red with Mickey Mouse valentines for those to impress their date, roses were given to the first twenty-five people to show up. The crowd looked to be just around that number so either they were hiding their roses to show their valentine for the big day or people just came in and took them and left because they were too cheap to buy one themselves.

When it came to Ripp though there were no problems. Most of his songs that he performed were off his latest album “She Remains the Same” which is available on his website www.andrewripp.com.

Born in Chicago, Illinois he moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to begin his music career, writing songs for his first album Fifty Miles to Chicago, as well as writing with pop star Ryan Cabrera. He now lives in Nashville, Tennessee where he also records.

His first song was a typical love song played for the couples, but his soulful voice added something extra to his performance. He promised that his next few songs would be faster, and he delivered with his second song “Savior” which included a kazoo solo. His next song got the audience more involved, but his friend Joe from Chicago who was also there to watch was there to participate if the audience was not willing.

Other songs included a cover of famous country artist Hank Williams, as well as the song “It’s All Good” whose title comes from a saying people in Los Angeles are fond of saying.

His song “Star” was about his friend Clark who passed away about five years ago. It was also performed on last week’s American Idol.

His last couple of songs included “Peace Like a River”, a song about his wife that he married last year.

All in all even with a small crowd, Ripp was able to deliver a huge performance to their appreciation.