Protestors rally against violence

By Jennifer Umaña
Daily Forty-Niner

"We have the power. We have the right. The streets are ours, take back the night."

This was just one of the many chants started out by a group of about 60 people who weaved a path through Cal State Long Beach Thursday night, as part of "Take Back the Night," a rally designed to raise awareness for violence against women.

The annual event, which began in England in the mid-1970s and takes place all around the world, has been absent from CSULB for two years.

The event began with a rally held at the Speaker's Platform in front of the University Bookstore, where a few women spoke about the importance of the night's activities.

One of the speakers was Angela Bowen, professor of women's studies and English literature. She first spoke at a "Take Back the Night" rally in 1979.

"I would have expected that by now we would've taken back the night ... be able to roam the street just like men do," she said. "We should be able to go out anytime we please."

Only a few men dotted the group of women that snaked its way from the from the Speaker's Platform to the dormitories and then to the fountain in front of Brotman Hall.

The group, who carried lit candles as they made their procession, held up traffic and garnered attention from confused people.

"It's like a séance or something," a male passerby commented to his female friend.

One male at the Parkside Commons residence halls shouted, "What the hell are you talking about?"

The group continued with its chanting as it reached its final destination in front of Brotman Hall. A moment of silence for victims of violence was followed by a speak-out that allowed survivors and others to share their experiences.

"Be an ear to listen, be a voice to speak," said Roshni Chabra, commenting on how to help someone who is in a violent situation.

Chabra, program coordinator at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered Resource Center, helped organize the event.

The event was preceded by the "Clothesline Project," which was on display Thursday near the Speaker's Platform.

Survivors of violence and their loved ones decorated T-shirts honoring their struggle, and they hung from the clotheslines wrapped around trees.