Tonight will be a night to help protest violence throughout the nation and the world.

The Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Service will host the annual Take Back the Night march on campus.

Erin Walters, of SACIS, said this is the 19th year the march has been held in Charleston, but nationally, it has been going on since the 1970s.

“The march is being held to show unity in the community,” Walters said. “We’re not going to tolerate domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse or violence in any way against men, women or children.”

The march will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Campus Pond Pavilion, and after community members speak briefly, there will be a march on campus with empowerment chants.

Immediately following the march, everyone will meet back at the pavilion for a vigil and a speak-out where anyone can give a testimony and help spread awareness of violence.

Bonnie Buckley, executive director of SACIS, said the march is important because it is vital that people hear that violence happens in greater numbers than is assumed.

Buckley described the march as a “motivating experience” and that it is open to students as well as the members of the community and even children.

“It is important for kids to know that people want their community to be safe,” she said. “People are issuing a statement just by their presence and saying ‘we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.'”

Suzanne Enck-Wanzer, the coordinator of Take Back the Night, said last year’s march had around 500 people marching together across the campus, and she hopes this year’s event will be just as big.

“The unifying theme throughout these diverse topics is the assertion that all human beings have the right to be free from violence, the right to be heard and the right to reclaim those rights?if they are violated,” she said.

Melissa Sturtevant can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENnewsdesk@gmail.com.