TAKE BACK THE NIGHT April 12, 2024

Photography by  AUSTIN DESISTO

By FORREST ZENG

On Friday, April 19, the Academy hosted its annual “Take Back The Night” event, dedicated to raising awareness and solidarity with survivors of sexual assault.

The event was inspired by the worldwide Take Back The Night movement to support those who have been harmed by sexual violence. Students could be seen on Friday evening attending the event on the EPAC patio, where several clubs and athletic teams set up activities and booths. All boarding students were given tea lights to place in their windows as a symbol of collective solidarity. The Lamont Gallery additionally displayed the Clothesline Project, an exhibit of hung shirts with statements written on them by event participants.

From the Take Back The Night website, the movement “is the oldest worldwide movement to stand against sexual violence in all forms.” The movement later spread to college campuses and to high school campuses such as the Academy. 

“Take Back the Night is an annual event that Exonians Against Sexual Assault (EASA) has assisted in hosting for a few years now,” EASA co-head and senior Gigi Lannon said. “It is part of the schools celebration or acknowledgement of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.” 

Participants were invited to contribute to the Clothesline Project, an organization dedicated to raising awareness to sexual violence. Students created T-shirts in response to prompts that would be hung on a clothesline as a part of the Clothesline Project. 

“This year is special because we have our own exhibit in the Lamont Gallery for the Clothesline Project,” Lannon described. “The Clothesline Project is something Exeter has done for a few years, where people can design their own shirts and then they are hung up. All of the coheads have statements pasted in the gallery that describe why they like the event which I thought was cool.” The project is currently on display in the Lamont Gallery.

Various clubs and on-campus organizations contributed to the on-campus event. The event came a week after the Academy welcomed attendees to the Sexual Violence Awareness summit on April 12. “This year, we focused more of our time on the summit, but still had a bunch of clubs set up booths and people came and walked around,” Lannon said. 

“The booths were very low key, and to me, it felt like they were able to communicate people’s struggles with sexual violence in novel and interesting ways,” lower Truman Yee said. “I appreciate any chance to learn, especially when it puts victims’ voices at the forefront of discussion. Showing my support for this event was a no-brainer.”