UW-Green Bay to host ‘Take Back the Night,’ an event advocating for the end of sexual violence on college campuses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 12, 2023

For the first time, a current UW-Green Bay student will provide keynote address

Green Bay, WI – The University of Wisconsin – Green Bay’s Healthy Choices Task Force is hosting the third annual ‘Take Back the Night’ program and march on Wednesday evening, October 18 at Phoenix Park, on the Green Bay campus. More than 300 students and staff are expected to join in this unique opportunity to march, share stories and take charge in their community, helping to create a safer and more welcoming campus.

The approximate schedule for the evening is as follows:

5:30 p.m.       

• Resource Fair, featuring campus departments and community connections,
• Chalk the Walk, where the Healthy Choices Task Force will provide free food tickets for students.
• Food for faculty/staff and community members available for purchase.

6:30 p.m.       

• Chancellor Michael Alexander gives Land Acknowledgement, opening remarks.
• Wellness Center will conduct a ground exercise.
• Student poets Freya Wiseman and Jazmyn Roensch will share a piece of their work.

The keynote speaker in the program this year is Ava Eichhorn, a UW-Green Bay student. She will step forward and share her personal experience and how she remclaimed her voice. Eichhorn is the first current student to give the keynote address for ‘Take Back the Night.’ The march though campus, led by the Phoenix Softball Team, will begin in Phoenix Park following her address. If the weather prevents the march from happening outside, it will start in the Phoenix Rooms and move through the tunnels. The night will end with a candle light vigil at the Statue, where current student Kat Halfman will speak. Then, Jasmine Puls, SGA Health and Safety Chair, will have her piece of her poetry read to conclude the evening.

“We are excited to host ‘Take Back the Night’ on the UW-Green Bay campus for the third year,” said Caitlin Henriksen,UW-Green Bay health educator for Sexual Violence Prevention at the Wellness Center. “Survivors share their stories and realize they’re supported and not alone in their experiences. Resources, both on and off campus, are highlighted for survivors to seek additional help. ‘Take Back the Night’ sends a clear message that sexual violence will not be tolerated at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay.”

The UW-Green Bay Healthy Choices Task Force provides programs and activities which help students make informed choices about their lifestyle and behaviors. Programs focus on topics such as: domestic/sexual violence, marijuana and other drug use prevention and awareness, alcohol use prevention and facts, bystander intervention, wellness, mental health and suicide prevention. The Wellness Center on the UW-Green Bay campus offers free counseling to all students and provides safe reporting options for sexual assault victims.

‘Take Back the Night’ is an international movement that empowers communities to fight back against sexual and interpersonal violence. Marching shows support for survivors and shares resources, while showing the community that violence will not be tolerated here.

Take Back the Night Foundation’s global mission is to end all forms of sexual violence, including sexual assault, sexual abuse, trafficking, stalking, gender harassment, and relationship violence, and to support survivors in their healing journeys. Their movement is the oldest worldwide movement to stand against sexual assault.

About UW-Green Bay
Established in 1965, UW-Green Bay is a public institution serving more than 9,800 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students and 80,000 continuing education learners each year. We educate students from pre- college through retirement and offer 200+ degrees, programs and certificates. UW-Green Bay graduates are resilient, inclusive, sustaining and engaged members of their communities, ready to rise to fearlessly face challenges, solve problems and embrace diverse ideas and people. With four campus locations, the University welcomes students from every corner of the world. In 2021, UW-Green Bay was the fastest-growing UW school in Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.

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