Take Back the Night

Last night I attended a Take Back the Night rally. Take Back the Night was originally started in 1978 in San Francisco after an anti-pornography conference (though some claim the first rally was almost a hundred years earlier). Women spoke out about their experiences of being adversely affected by pornography. Today, Take Back the Night rallies raise awareness for rape, human trafficking, violence against children, and domestic violence, among many other crimes.
Last night's rally was hosted by SHADOW (Students Helping Abate Destruction Of Women), and consisted of a candlelit vigil and walk from Mohn to Kachel Chapel in Teel Hall. Afterwards, several speakers discussed such topics as human trafficking, child sexual abuse, prevention of sexual violence and personal stories.
It was an incredibly emotional night for many of the people in attendance, and left a great impact on all (and I generalize because if it didn't leave an impact . . . well, I don't see how it couldn't).

Today is the long-anticipated day-before-Easter-Break. I decided to be a good student and not skip Chinese in favor of seeing my dogs (oh, and my parents and sister), although Thursdays are language lab days and we spend them watching Chinese films. This afternoon, we're finishing up "Joy Luck Club," of which I've only ever seen clips. And this morning, I need to remember to speak with Dr. Lehman about journalism.

I also need to e-mail Dr. King . . . yesterday I approached Dr. Schad with a question about some contradicting passages of shari'a law. He was perplexed, so I'm to ask Dr. King (who teaches Islam). I also e-mailed some of my friends . . . but the passages are in Arabic, and they're Persian. That's almost as fun as me asking Dr. Schad (who is fluent in Arabic) to translate some war propaganda . . . and then realizing that it was in Farsi.