Candles will light up the night sky tonight for the Take Back the Night March to promote safety throughout the community.

The Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Service has sponsored this program for the last 17 years, said Misti Farler, director of adult education and volunteer coordinator for SACIS.

Participants in the march will be given candles to light as they walk through campus.

“Our main purpose of the march is to help spread the message that we want violence against women, children and men to end,” Farler said.

The program starts with a presentation where survivors of sexual violence will have a chance to read poetry to speak out against their abusers.

“Some of the poetry is sad, and some of it is angry,” Farler said. “It can be very difficult for the reader to speak in front of a large group, but it has therapeutic qualities also.

“For example, a survivor’s abuser wants nothing more than for his victim to remain silent about the abuse. This is a way for the survivor to reclaim their power over their abuser.”

The first known Take Back the Night March took place on Nov 17, 1977, in San Francisco to protest rape and pornography, which the Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media identified with the sexualized subordination of women. The marches were originally for women only, but that requirement is left up to local organizers.

“Last year we had approximately 450 people attend the march,” Farler said. “Each year, thankfully, the attendance gets better and better.”

Anyone who wishes to support the event is encouraged to attend, including faculty, staff and community members.

The program will begin at 7 p.m. at the Campus Pond pavilion. Participants will begin marching north at 7:30 on Fourth Street to Lincoln Avenue then in front of Old Main and down Seventh Street, through the Library Quad and back to the pond.

“It is very moving and powerful to see all the groups, individuals, sororities and fraternities, sports teams, faculty, staff and community members gather in one place for a common goal,” Farler said.