No Zebras: ‘Canes Against Sexual Assault hosted an open-mic forum for students to share their experience with sexual assault at the Labyrinth by the Hecht-Stanford Bridge on Monday.
The annual Take Back the Night event is a great platform for healing and recovery, according to No Zebras President Brenna Riley. The night was organized during national Sexual Awareness and Prevention Month. Prior to speaking to the crowd, Riley said that speaking about experiences could be helpful for victims.
“For students that have experienced something like this, it’s a very healing event to be able to come and let out some of the feelings that might have been inside,” Riley said.
Riley took the podium first and shared the number for the counseling center, 305-284-5511, encouraging victims not to hesitate to reach out. Then, she told the crowd of her own experience with assault.
The organization aims to raise awareness and educate the University of Miami and the surrounding community, which is another reason that Take Back the Night is such a big event for the organization.
“It raises awareness for the people that are coming here to see real people that these things have happened to, and it really kind of hits home,” Riley said. “It makes people more aware of the issue and want to do something about it.”