"Community takes back the night from sexual assault, rape"
By JESSI HUGHES | Oct. 24, 2005Some think it only affects women, but sexual assault is far from a female-only issue.Whether they were victims dealing with the aftermath, or people who had never been affected by rape or assault, both men and women alike came together to take a stand Thursday at the annual Take Back the Night on South Campus.Each year, Take Back the Night, which is held on several college campuses, allows the community to come together to share their stories and raise awareness about the effects of rape and sexual assault.UB's event was held in Harriman Hall, which was packed with students, faculty and several organizations, leaving only standing room for additional onlookers.The night's guest speaker, Linda Hill-MacDonald, head coach of the UB women's basketball team, delivered some somber statistics: every six minutes, one rape occurs in the United States and only one in ten rapes are reported."Rape is not the fault of the victim," said Hill-MacDonald, as several eyes in the room fell to the floor, "She does not ask, nor does she deserve to be raped."Hill-MacDonald said that specific to the college demographic, one in five women report being raped during their college career.
