Safety in numbers?

"Men can be feminists."\n"Cultural conceptions that blame women for their own sexual assault are devastatingly inaccurate and must be erased from society's thinking."\n"Raising awareness about the prevalence of sexual assault -- especially imposing that knowledge upon men -- is essential to make occurrences diminish."\nThese major themes of IU's Take Back the Night held Thursday evening are incredibly progressive and necessary, especially in our culture where one in eight women on a university campus will experience sexual assault, as Carol McCord, assistant dean for the Office of Women's Affairs, pointed out in her address to the crowd.\nStill, as I sat on the cold grass in Dunn Meadow in front of the stage -- shivering but enthralled -- I couldn't help but think about the disconcerting implications of some of the other rhetoric that is inherently a part of Take Back the Night ceremonies. \n"Tonight we are safe to walk alone," said one speaker at the event, addressing women. \nWhen I heard that, I couldn't help but recall the night before, when, near midnight after a long workday, I'd had the urge to go for a long, exhaustive run. I didn't hesitate; I wasn't worried about my safety on the Woodlawn track that late evening.\nShould I have felt unsafe? \nWas I safe at night only on the eve of Take Back the Night?\nCertainly not. And, in all fairness, I know that the benevolent campus organizations hosting the event weren't implying that idea.\nMy memory was activated that evening, though, as I recalled moments as a high school student and as a freshman at IU, being frightened to my core walking home to Forest Quad late at night, usually after ushering at IU Auditorium events. No way would I have signed up for a night class.\nI avoided walking alone at night at all costs.\nI was too scared.\nCertainly my fear stemmed from my mother's warnings to me as a girl and from watching too many "Dateline" episodes warning parents to help their daughters (never their sons) be safe on spring break or when they go to parties (Hold onto your drink the entire night! Don't wear a skirt the width of a belt! etc.).\nLuckily, a couple of media literacy classes and years of life experience later, the security I've obtained through knowledge allows me to make a conscious choice to not live my life in restrictive, culturally constructed and institutionalized walls.\nSo it was a little disturbing Thursday evening when ideas about women inherently being victims were reinforced by some of the language at Take Back the Night.\nAnd this is not to say that women aren't inherently victims. Under a false consciousness, we probably are. This is not to chastise or attempt to cancel any future Take Back the Night ceremonies. The awareness generated from such an event is invaluable.\nI suppose the ideal, then, as mentioned that evening by guest speakers, is to live in a culture where Take Back the Night ceremonies aren't necessary at all.