Moravian’s AAUW Makes Streets Safe for Women
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) hosted the national Take Back the Night event on Monday, April 22, to shed light on and ultimately end sexual assault and domestic violence, both on campus and abroad.
Students began marching on South Campus, joining together in the evening. They were equipped with signs, shirts, and passion. They then marched up Main Street on their way to North Campus, where they joined the rest of the college community for a night of discussion about feminist issues.
“There are so many ways to get involved besides just marching,” said Emma Hutchman ‘20, president of AAUW. “You can come to our meetings, help sell t-shirts, help set up and clean up Johnston [Hall], make posters, march from South Campus. You basically only need to show up, and it’s so important that you do. If you aren’t actively trying to stop sexual assault, even at least on a basic level, you’re being complacent.”
The event also featured famous feminist slam poet Imani Cezanne.
“What we want people to take away from this event,” Hutchman said, “is that it’s important. We need to do better as a society for the sake of everyone. This isn’t a joke. Women, students — everyone — are constantly in danger and people don’t do anything about it. We are trying to do something about it.”
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women is raped at some point in their lives, and this statistic only increases in regards to sexual harassment of college women.
The AAUW club looks to solve this problem head on. The club looks to battle a large range of female issues that college women face, one of them being sexual assault.
“AAUW is a national organization that strives for equity across the board,” said Hutchman. “We want to successfully integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus. We want everyone to have the same rights and comforts and respect.”
The club’s interests also include increasing academic opportunities for women, championing minority women’s rights, and working with other clubs to ensure a fair and equal playing field for women.
The club is very active on campus, planning numerous activities for all Moravian students to participate in and holding weekly meetings and discussion. The club hosts Love Your Body Day and Take Back the Night, voting registration, Pay Equity Day, and various co sponsored events throughout the year.
“I want others to know that we’re not just a group of white girls trying to be the loudest people in the room,” Hutchman said. “We are, at our core, a feminist group, but that doesn’t mean we are exclusively female. Our club has a myriad of members, all of whom are of different backgrounds, ethnicities and identities. We genuinely just want to make the world a better and safer place for everyone.”
