Cal U to host program
The woman who gave a name and a face to date rape and helped to humanize a crime that few ever spoke about will speak at California University’s annual “Take Back the Night” event this week. Katie Koestner received national attention for speaking out and going public with her story after being sexually assaulted by a fellow student at the College of William and Mary.
Koestner’s assault, followed quickly by the William Kenn-edy Smith and Mike Tyson cases, helped to bring debate over the issue of date rape into the national spotlight.
“Time” magazine featured Koestner on the cover of its date rape issue. In 1993, she completed a project with HBO, the Lifestories Docudrama entitled, “No Visible Bruises: The Katie Koestner Story.” She also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, CNBC Talk Live, MTV, Larry King Live, Entertainment Tonight and dozens of local news programs in order to create public awareness of date rape.
She will speak Thursday at 6 p.m. in front of the Natali Student Center as part of the 9th annual “Take Back The Night” sponsored by the PEACE (Prevention, Education, Advocacy for Change and Empowerment) Project and SSART (The Student Sexual Assault Response Team).
The event will feature a variety of activities, including a rally and a candlelight march through campus and the community.
This year’s “Take Back The Night” theme is “Shine the light on sexual assault – what is done in the dark shall come to light.”
Nancy Skobel, director of the PEACE Project, said that “shining the light on sexual assault” removes the power of darkness surrounding such crimes and focuses light onto the subject so that people can talk about it and eventually work together to eliminate it.
Skobel said one way victims become empowered is to talk about what happened. She said there will be an open microphone period for anyone who wishes to speak out. She said speaking out is very important for victims of sexual assault.
Skobel said one student spoke out for the first time last year and said it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“One female spoke out (on the open microphone). For the first time, she said out loud that she was a survivor. Afterwards, she expressed deep gratitude and said she was going to seek counseling,” Skobel said.
The PEACE Project and SSART are asking students and faculty to wear teal ribbon and focus on activities that “shine the light” on Thursday. Car headlights, candles, lamps and flashlights can all be used on this day to remove the darkness and silence that surrounds this issue.
In the case of rain, the program will be held in the Natali Performance Center. Students, faculty and community members are invited to attend.