Dear Editor,

In response to the letter published last issue regarding the lack of fraternity attendance at the Take Back the Night Event, I feel it is imperative that I mention a critical detail that Seth Dawson did not include –– and that is that the Interfraternity Council was given a scant four days notice in advance of the event. We in Feminists Advocating Change and Empowerment did not have as much time as we wanted preparing for this event, and we invited the IFC to co-sponsor at such a late date that we feel it is unfair to accuse the IFC of being remiss in their responsibilities as a co-sponsor. April is an impossibly busy month, and we are students first, so it would be unreasonable of us to expect members of the IFC to be lax in their studying in order to attend an event given less than a weeks notice. That said, the sentiments in Seth Dawson’s letter holds true –– sexual assault is NOT just a woman’s issue; it is everyone’s issue, and this is too often forgotten. We were, certainly, sad to see that no fraternity men attended the event, and I do think that many men on campus do not think of combating sexual assault and violence as a personal priority. Events like Take Back the Night exist to change that mentality. There is so much left to be done in making our campus safe for everyone, and we were not only grateful, but excited that the IFC agreed to co-sponsor and helped us advertise. We hope that next year, given more advance notice, fraternity men will attend, speak, and march with us, and continue to prove that we can do the most to combat sexual assault and violence when we work together.

Sincerely,
McKenna Milici, ’11