This year Take Back The Night is different, because it included a new event.

Brooks Zitzmann, Loyola University staff counselor, said she believes “Take Back the Night” 2013 differed from past years because of the add-ons.

“This year we added on a new event,” Zitzmann said.

“The night before our annual march, so the night of Oct. 22, a Tuesday, we had a spoken word event. Dillard hosted at their library,” Zitzmann said.

Annually the Loyola community teams up to “Take Back The Night” and stand aganist sexual violence with students from Tulane University, Dillard University and Xavier University.

This year it was held on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 6p.m. this marked the 22nd annual Take Back the Night ceremony.

The event included speeches and personal stories from survivors of sexual abuse, as well as a march down St. Charles Avenue.

Jade Domingue, English writing junior, attended the event and shared her experience.

“I am excited that this night, Take Back The Night, local universities have decided to come together and raise awareness, empower survivors and surface the issue of sexual violence right here in New Orleans,” Domingue said.

Julie Thibodaux, director of the Women’s Resource Center, said Loyola teams up with other schools to show the scope of the problem.

“This is a community event. We want to raise awareness. Sexual assault is a big problem on a college campus. Bringing the universities together is a strong sign that the communities do not accept violence and will make noise until we can be free of such attacks,” Thibodaux said.

Zitzmann believes the event has a broad message.

“I think the broader vision is not only to support victims, but really to call for mutual respect and consent among our people. Ultimately that’s building the kind of community that I want to live in, that I want my family and my sisters to live in,” Zitzmann said.

Jacob Stringer can be reached at [email protected].