Students will march this evening to raise awareness about sexual assault and to reclaim the freedom of feeling safe on the streets at night.

The 19th annual Take Back the Night, organized by Womyn's Concerns, will begin with an hour-long rally at 6 tonight at Old Main, followed by a march that will stop at locations on and off campus.

Marchers will leave Old Main at about 7 p.m. The march will conclude with a ceremony at Central Parklet on South Fraser Street.

"At each stop, people discuss their experiences and heal from them in a very supportive atmosphere," said Molly Zuckerman, co-director of Womyn's Concerns. "It is a healing event for survivors. They recognize that they are not alone, that their experience is shared by other people."

The rally will have music and several speakers, including survivors of sexual assault, she said.

"The purpose is to create public awareness and to bring attention to the occurrence of sexual assault and rape," Zuckerman said. "Sexual violence is not a topic discussed with much comfort and openness in our society. This makes it a public issue. We are acknowledging that sexual violence occurs and acknowledging the people it has happened to."

The closing ceremony will feature more speakers and a discussion about the event, and it will be followed by an after-party at Webster's Bookstore Café, 128 S. Allen St., about 11 p.m., she said.

Several hundred people are expected to participate in the march, said Peggy Lorah, Center for Women Students director. "It's an event that people, especially survivors, look forward to every year. It is an important occasion to honor their stories," Lorah said. "It gives them the opportunity to speak out, be heard and to support other people who have been through sexual violence."

During the march, sexual assault counselors from the Centre County Women's Resource Center, 140 W. Nittany Ave., will be available people in need of support or counseling, said Carrie Lee, a prevention educator at the center.

Lee said the march is important because sexual assaults occur at Penn State. "It provides a space for survivors to come together to raise awareness and support each other," she said.

Take Back the Night is an internation-al event that takes place every April as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It began in the 1970s as a reaction to the idea that women should stay home at night to avoid becoming targets of sexual assault, Lorah said.

"Every human being has the right to move freely without fear," she said. "Assailants can't take away our rights to be outside and to have that freedom."