University of Wisconsin students and community members marched down Bascom Hill Wednesday night to voice their frustrations regarding sexual assault on campus and demand that it end.
More than 80 students and community members, including sexual assault survivors, walked from Bascom and up State Street, shouting chants and advocating for change to stop sexual assault from happening on campus.
Rejecting silence: Student survivors take control, speak out on sexual violence
Claire VanValkenburg, UW freshman and event organizer, said she was frustrated following the #TheRealUW protest because University of Wisconsin Police Department had spent six months chasing a student for “performing art” on buildings, but was “lazy” when it came to preventing sexual assault on campus.
VanValkenburg believes UWPD could and should do more for students on campus regarding sexual assault. Protestors included a list of four demands directed at UWPD and UW to address the issue.
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The demands include increased police presence around Memorial Union, Langdon Street and Lakeshore path, follow-up emails after crime warnings detailing whether the perpetrator had been found, an increased number of emergency phones on campus and a discussion with the chancellor this summer or next year, VanValkenburg said.
In a poem she shared with sexual assault supporters and survivors, VanValkenburg told true stories of her struggles.
“I am that girl who walks home Monday through Sunday night with pepper spray in my hand, fierce on the outside but trembling on the inside, crying about the tragedies on campus,” VanValkenburg said.
Several speakers shared their personal stories of sexual assault including Taylor Slivinski, a UW sophomore. In an impassioned poem, Slivinski spoke about being sexually assaulted in her freshman year dorm’s common room.
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While the perpetrator was kicked out of the dorm, Slivinski said she had to spend a week in therapy. When she sees him on campus or something reminds her of him, Slivinski is still pained by the memory.
Though she said she got over the physical part of the assault, the psychological aspect was more difficult to get over, especially because others who witnessed the act said it didn’t look “that bad,” or she could have done more to stop it from happening.
“I’m afraid that it will happen again, that this scar will never go away, so tell me how it is not that bad,” Slivinski said.
Following several more speeches by event supporters, including community members Liam Manjon and Ali Trevino- Murphy, the protestors marched to Langdon Street. The protestors continually shouted chants about ending sexual assault, but paused for a moment of silence for sexual assault survivors.
Before concluding their march, protestors gathered in front of Memorial Union to reiterate their demands and talk about the implications of the march.
Katie Zaman, UW graduate student, shared her support on behalf of graduate students who suffer from sexual assault and harassment.
Zaman said many are fed up and the administration needs to take the issue of sexual assault seriously because of its high rate on campus.
“We are going to make this place safe for everyone,” Zaman said. “This is a place of learning, this is a place of community, this a place where young adults come together and become citizens of the world — we want to build a better world.”
