Posters were made and pots and pans banged Thursday night as the St. Thomas Feminist Community club participated in “Take Back the Night,” a national sexual assault awareness event.

Club members paraded through campus starting at the Luann Dummer Center for Women. The women passed by the Anderson Student Center, the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex and the Upper Quad.

Junior Madelyn Larsin said the event was an attempt to raise awareness about the importance of women feeling safe at night.

“The purpose of the event is to bring awareness to violence against women. And the theme of ‘Take Back the Night’ is that women should be able to walk freely in the streets and feel safe and not like they’re going to be attacked,” Larsin said.

FemCom caught the attention of several students on campus, including freshman Bridget Gaughan.

“I was really interested just because I saw a big herd of girls just clanking pots and pans and yelling, and obviously that really gets your attention,” Gaughan said.

Although the club caught her eye, Gaughan said that the message could have been expanded to groups other than women to prevent bias.

“I would like to see some men there as well, because, I mean, let’s face it, it’s as much the women as it is the men, and I think that it comes off a little bit biased,” Gaughan said. “I think it’s a problem we all share. I definitely think it’s something for our entire school, our entire society, out entire country … and that men and women need to be involved with it.”

The march received both positive and negative feedback from students, but junior Morgan Schreurs, FemCom co-leader, said these responses kept the club from backing down.

“I think that there’s a lack of education and awareness of these issues on campus, so every moment that we can take to do our own part is really valuable,” Schreurs said. “Furthermore, even the backlash gives us energy and encouragement to keep our message going. That is what gives you the motivation to keep going in the face of adversity.”

Alison Bengtson can be reached at beng4632@stthomas.edu.