A collaborative effort to ‘Light the Night’ in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month will be held on Thursday night on Old Main Lawn.
‘Light the Night,’ which starts at 7 p.m., is an illuminated display in honor of victims and survivors of domestic and relationship violence.
The event is part of the national ‘Ten Points of Light to Take Back the Night,’ by the Take Back the Night Foundation, which to create safe communities and relationships through awareness and educational initiatives. Ten Points of Light events are held on the last Thursday of October and April each year. On Thursday, 10 host sites, including Penn State, will hold a candlelight vigil or other event to show support.
‘Light the Night’ on Old Main Lawn is a a collaboration among Penn State’s Gender Equity Center, Residence Life, Panhellenic Council and the Centre County Women’s Resource Center.
“Domestic and relationship violence truly is an epidemic that impacts people of all ages, gender identities, and backgrounds,” said Jennifer Pencek, programming coordinator of the Gender Equity Center. “It’s crucial that along with raising awareness, we also connect people with resources and build relationships in prevention efforts. We want survivors to know we honor them in our work and we wanted to have a more visual event that was focused on honoring people impacted by domestic violence and unhealthy relationships.”
For more information about this and other events sponsored by the Gender Equity Center, a unit of Penn State Student Affairs, please visit studentaffairs.psu.edu/genderequity. For more about the Centre County Women’s Resource Center, visit ccwrc.org. Both resources are free and confidential.
