Take Back the Night, a weeklong event supporting sexual violence survivors and hosted by College Feminists, returned with virtual and in-person programming from May 23 to 29.
Weinberg sophomore Susan Jeon, president of College Feminists, said in addition to supporting survivors, Take Back the Night intends to facilitate conversations on the roots of sexual violence and how to combat it at Northwestern.
“There’s definitely some restrictions (with this year’s event) because there’s not as much face-to-face contact and that physical support of being there with the community,” Jeon said. “But I feel even though people’s cameras may be off… it’s still a good space to learn about how to support survivors and how to deal with trusting yourself after traumatic events.”
Most interpretations of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello” center the perspectives of men like Iago or Othello himself, but a Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts Student Theatre & Performance Project seeks to empower the female characters.
“Desdemona: A Play about a Handkerchief” aims to raise up the titular character by positively portraying women’s sexuality. The play, written in 1994 by Paula Vogel, will premiere digitally May 28 to 30.
The team is filming and editing the play’s thirty scenes for viewers to stream for free on Broadway On Demand.
Director and Communication sophomore Sydney Tennill said she is interested in using art to break down the stigma around sex. “Desdemona” features characters who engage in sex work without shying away from it.
Content warning: This story contains mentions of sexual assault.
Sex is not talked about in a society from a pleasure-based perspective, said Chicago-based filmmaker Zanah Thirus. It is often seen as something done to an individual, as opposed to a mutually shared, pleasurable experience.
Northwestern’s Center for Awareness, Response and Education and Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators hosted a virtual screening of Thirus’s documentary, “Unlearning Sex,” on Tuesday to kick off Black History Month.
“Unlearning Sex” explores Thirus’s six-month journey navigating sexual trauma therapy and healing, as well as her conversations with therapists, sex educators and activists. The screening was followed by a Q&A and discussion facilitated by Saed Hill, assistant director of prevention and masculine engagement at CARE, who was featured in the documentary as a sex educator.