On April 22, the Take Back the Night Committee (TBTNC) hosted its eighth annual Take Back the Night event virtually this year as “Take Back the Net.”
The evening was a celebration for those taking the steps toward healing, filled with poems and speeches read by guest speaker Cheyenne Jacobs and student Miriam Podkolzin. The event concluded with a question and answer session between the audience and Jacobs, and a presentation by Daniella Bautista, who is the Gender Advocate for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Student Government Organization (DNI). The event additionally brought engagement amongst members of the Stevens community and awareness about sexual assault, harassment, and sexual coercion.
The night started with a welcome address by Rachael Spelman, senior Business and Technology student and President of the TBTNC, and notes from the Director of Community Standards and Title IX Coordinator, Xhiljola Ruçi Kluger. Providing an example of what a traditional Take Back the Night event would have looked like, Ruçi Kluger shared a video; there would have been marches throughout Hoboken, a candlelight vigil, and speeches by survivors.
The stage was then handed off to the first guest speaker of the night, Cheyenne Jacobs, a Black creative originally from New Jersey who resides in Atlanta, Georgia. She gained popularity with her book The Tragic Type of Beautiful and her work She Will Speak, where she releases biannual anthologies. Jacobs read excerpts from poems and discussed social narratives, explained how important consent is, the best ways to be an advocate, and led the audience in grounding techniques to help them be better listeners.
Jacobs also shared with the audience research about sexual assault amongst young Black and Latina populations in the U.S., who assume that they know more about sexual assualt and harassment than their white counterparts and hence “miss on formal education of sexual harassment, sexual coercement, and sexual assaults.” She additionally noted that women from these demographics are less likely to acknowledge rape, are tied to social narratives more strongly, and subsequently do not have access to resources that can help them.
When discussing consent, she reiterated how in some situations, “we get offended by ‘no’ as if it’s not an option.” When learning how to be a better advocate and ally, Jacobs emphasized the need to listen, and lead the audience in a grounding technique exercise. Then, Miriam Podkolzin, 3/4 Software Engineer, who is PR Chair of the TBTNC, read a poem called “My Short Skirt” by Eve Ensler. The night ended with a presentation on growth, healing, and progress by DNI Gender Advocate Bautista.
In an interview with Ruçi Kluger, she mentioned that “members of TBTN have been working diligently to ensure a successful live virtual event,” and she is happy with how well the event went despite the circumstances. TBTNC had been working on hosting this event since March 2020, and primarily focused on finding speakers and outlining the night. This year, they also participated in 30 Days of SAAM on their Instagram to further increase awareness.
Both the TBTNC and Ruçi Kluger agreed that their favorite moments from the night were guest speakers Jacobs and Bautista. Spelman found that their “words were very powerful and moving,” and “both gave great insights into how to amplify others’ voices.” Bautista also admired Jacobs, particularly moved by “her emphasis on how to foster survivor-centered spaces while talking about sexual violence.”
Bautista, a 2/4 Quantitative Finance major, hopes that her presentation and speech fostered an inclusive environment throughout the Stevens campus. She wanted to convey to the audience that “[survivors] feelings are always valid, and that their healing and growth from this doesn’t have to be linear and perfect.”
Ruçi Kluger additionally commented that “it was tough to see that not a lot of male identifying students [virtually] attend events like this,” especially at a school where the ratio of male to female on campus is approximately 70% to 30%. She hopes in future virtual events, engagement improves and there are more events bringing awareness to the community, instead of being restricted to only big events in April to commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Ruçi Kluger highly encourages Stevens students to join the student organization, emphasizing most executive board positions will be available in the fall. Engagement in this organization is encouraged for those who are interested in sexual assault prevention and awareness, and states that the work is “very rewarding.” She wanted to let the audience know that she is available to “answer questions, offer resources, and talk out options.”
Bautista likewise encourages Stevens students to interact with DNI and always recommends “reading, listening, and watching various resources that expand your knowledge about these issues.” Concerning the topic of sexual violence, she recommends referring to creatives like Jacobs who display their vulnerability while actively helping survivors.
Book recommendations from Cheyenne Jacobs:
Sexual Citizens
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
Hood Feminism
The Body Keeps the Score
Resources for survivors:
1-800-656-4673: National Sexual Assault 24/7 Telephone Hotline
1-800-799-safe: National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-201-795-5757: Hoboken – 24/7 Sexual Assault Hotline for Hudson County Residents
On-campus resources:
201-216-3383 or xruci@stevens.edu: Title IX Coordinator, Xhiljola Ruci
201-216-3911: Campus Police / 911
201-216-5177: CAPS offers teletherapy and extended evening hours to all students
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