Humber student Swetlana Adhikari held up a sign on Thursday evening demanding that “We want justice for Abhaya.” The placard was to raise awareness and stand up for a woman in her hometown of Kolkata, India, who was raped and murdered by a man.
“On August 9 and August 14, there was a slogan that was to reclaim the night. People from all over the place and back in my hometown went out and did a protest, similar to tonight,” she said.
Adhikari and many others united to march in Humber Polytechnic's ninth Take Back the Night at North campus on Sept. 19, supporting survivors of sexual violence and noting that people of all genders experience sexual assault and violence.
"These events and everything should keep on happening unless we’re at a point in civilization where this becomes a part of common sense and not an extra sense that people should have,” she said.
Adhikari said after raising her first financial grant, she is beginning her start-up called SEDX, a platform that educates people on sex education because there isn't much formal sex education in India.
Senior peer mentor for Humber North campus’ first-year experience (FYE), Gurkeer Kaur, supported and brought in volunteers and first years to this year’s Take Back the Night march.
“I know recently there’s so much stuff that’s happened in India right now and a lot of our students are from that demographic,” Kaur said.
“I feel like it’s just something that they can do here to say I’m still supporting people back home, or back anywhere in this world where we’re standing up against such an important cause,” she said.
Humber’s Office of Sustainability had a booth for students to write notes to survivors.
Gabi Hentschke, Humber's communications and engagement coordinator with the Office of Sustainability, emphasized as someone who identifies as a woman that it’s important to raise awareness of sexual assault.
“Once people enter college, it’s usually the first time that people have sexual experiences, so that’s why it’s so important for us to draw the line and say this is what’s right, this is what’s wrong, it’s unacceptable,” Hentschke said.
“I think awareness is a really important step in the right direction and especially being someone who comes from another country, from Brazil, which is extremely conservative compared to Canada, it’s so important for us to have those conversations,” she said.
Michelle Cho, communications and events assistant for the Office of Sustainability, said everyone knows someone who has experienced violence against them and writing them a message is a way to remind them that they are not alone.
“This [Take Back the Night] feels very supportive. This feels like there’s a lot of rally in energy. It’s giving everyone the opportunity to come out and see it for themselves, feel it for themselves,” Cho said.
This year’s Take Back the Night also featured lead peer educators for the North and Lakeshore campuses MC'ing before the walk before leading the protest, highlighting how important it is to support survivors of sexual violence.
Associate Dean of Student Wellness and Equitable Learning, Sterling Crowe, who goes by he/they pronouns, followed the lead peer educators with a speech.
“At Humber Polytechnic, we have the opportunity and responsibility to create spaces where every person feels they belong,” Crowe said.
“For those of us who don’t fit the norm, who navigate our lives as gender-queer, as trans, as people of colour, as those in the margins, we often face harm more frequently and with deeper scars,” he said.
“We’re here tonight to build a space where empathy and support aren’t just words, they are actions. Actions that move us toward real, transformative change,” Crowe said.
Humber grad Zee Seon, who goes by she/they pronouns, performed with her band for empowerment and to spread some positivity after the speeches.
“This [sexual assault awareness] should be something that is sprinkled into the lives of people all the time, so not just one day and disappears. It’s something people have to deal with the rest of their lives,” Seon said.
“I appreciate coming back to Humber and they have these events to raise awareness and to get people together for a cause and bring people who otherwise wouldn’t be here,” she said.
Humber’s new student advocate Isabella Vergara Bedoya said as a student community, raising awareness will determine what will happen in the future.
“There’s a lot of plans that we have to support our student community. I can have the opportunity to make a positive impact in our community and in different issues like mental health, even physical health, being able to support the students with their workload with assignments. Even international students were facing different changes,” Vergara Bedoya said.
Representatives from Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter and Revive were at the march along with student resource tables such as counselling, Humber’s LGBTQ+ Resource Centre and Public Safety to remind students that they are not alone and that resources are available.
The march around Humber’s North campus began at 6:30 p.m. with students holding signs in solidarity, chanting out, “Sexual violence has to go.”
Lakeshore students took a shuttle bus to get to the North campus.
