Displayed on the first page of the “Still I Rise” event program, the Maya Angelou quote “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you,” set the tenor of the night. Hosted yesterday by WISE @ Dartmouth, the event gave survivors of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking a chance to tell their stories.
The group decided to hold “Still I Rise” because they were inspired by the positive reaction to Unedited Voices of the Upper Valley, an event the Upper Valley WISE had previously organized, co-chair of WISE @ Dartmouth Caeli Cavanagh ’14 said.
The show began with a talk from seniors in WISE @ Dartmouth about why they advocate for sexual assault survivors.
They were followed by stories submitted by survivors of sexual assault or abuse at Dartmouth. Some of these pieces were performed by other students, and the all took the form of short stories, letters or poetry.
Cavanagh said that they wanted to move away from the traditional “speak out” format for this event.
She said that “speak outs,” while effective, often attract only a certain group of people, while others choose not to attend because they think it may be difficult to listen to the stories. She said that the group wanted to make the event about strength and support, and thought that by having the focus be on artistic submissions, the event would be “more approachable to people who wouldn’t normally go to ‘speak outs.’”
Fusion Dance Ensemble, the Rockapellas a cappella group and the student band Winterhill performed at various points throughout the night. Winterhill performed an original song, “Avery,” which they played as a tribute to survivors.
The show ended with an ensemble reading of the Maya Angelou poem “Still I Rise.”
After the show, audience members could talk with performers and organizers over drinks and food at the Top of the Hop.
Cavanagh, who directed the show, described it as a “fish out of water” experience due to her lack of a theater background. She said that WISE @ Dartmouth received a number of submissions from students around campus and cast other students to read the pieces.
“It all just came together and I think it was a really good performance. I’m glad I got to be a part of it,” Cavanagh said.
They group has been working on the show since the beginning of winter term, and she thinks it was a success.
Bridget Lynn ’15, a member of WISE @ Dartmouth, said she thought it was great to see the event all come together.
“I thought it went really well, I was really happy with the turnout.” she said. “I thought everybody did a great job.”
Tori Nevel ’16, another member of WISE @ Dartmouth, echoed Lynn and said that she was happy with how the event turned out.
“I’m still a little bit in shock because I think it went really well, and so many people got to share their stories,” Nevel said after the show.
Nevel said that she thought it was great how many different groups of students contributed to the event, from the Rockapellas to Winterhill, and even donations from a variety of Greek houses across campus.
“I think its kind of wonderful that we’re at a place in the world where everyone can contribute to a cause like this”, she added.
Luisa Vasquez ’18 said that she thought the show was a very powerful performance, especially when the pieces were read by the authors themselves. She added that she thought the musical performances were appropriate and added to the overall atmosphere of the show.
Megan Cogguillo ’16 said she thought the show was important and educational, especially because she had not been to a similar event in the past.
Katie Cohen ’16, who attended the event, said she went because she was interested in hearing more about students’ experiences.
“It was definitely a very powerful experience,” she said.
