Spring Break
Marchers mobilize to 'Take Back the Night'
David Cordill
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: News
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The predominately female assemblage was assisted by a UMKC police escort who ushered the participants from the Volker Campus to the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain at 47th Street and J.C. Nichols Parkway.
Violence Prevention Coordinator at the Women's Center Cynthia Taylor, one of the TBTN organizers, spoke about the long-term aims of the event.
"The ultimate goal is that we should be able to walk down the street in the middle of the night and not feel fear," Taylor said. "That's not where we live right now, and that's okay, but this is just an opportunity to speak out against sexual assault."
Marchers chanted, blew whistles and carried signs with various slogans such as "NO CONSENT = RAPE" and "END THE SILENCE." From the passenger seat of a UMKC police cruiser, Annette Uwaemenyi, freshman political science major, took on the role of yell leader via the car's public address system.
After the 45-minute walk from the Volker Campus, the group was greeted by belly dancers who gyrated to the beat of a drum circle seated nearby. While some marchers rested and enjoyed the entertainment, others lined the boulevard and displayed their signs to the Plaza traffic.
Speeches were given by Scott Mason, a domestic violence activist from the Rose Brooks Center; Victoria Pickering, Kansas City Area Planned Parenthood; date-rape victim Monica Gray, who is a volunteer with the Metropolitan Organization to Combat Sexual Assault (MOCSA); and Missouri State Representative Beth Lowe.
Mason discussed the intentions of the Rose Brooks Center.
"Community service is something we can all be responsible for," Mason said. "We're definitely here, and we're definitely a part of that community response for domestic violence and sexual assault."
Pickering spoke to the gathering about preventing the unintended pregnancy of sexual assault victims by promoting what she called emergency contraception (EC). Pointing out that no law exists in Kansas or Missouri requiring emergency room caregivers to provide EC, or information pertaining to EC, to victims of sexual assault, Pickering urged people to purchase their own, which she said is currently available over the counter at most local pharmacies.
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