DATE: April 07, 2008

CONTACT: Jennifer Goree, (864) 656-1823
goree@clemson.edu

WRITER: Julie Ledbetter, (864) 656-2061
jeledbe@clemson.edu

Clemson to hold Take Back the Night Run

Event to raise awareness about domestic violence, sexual assault

CLEMSON — The fourth annual Take Back the Night Run, an event to help end domestic violence, rape and interpersonal violence, will be Friday, April 18. The certified 5K race will begin at 6 p.m. outside Redfern Heath Center and run throughout Clemson’s campus.

All the proceeds from the event will benefit Safe Harbor, Foothills Alliance and the Pickens County Rape Crisis Center.

Last year more than 200 people participated in the event, but Jennifer Goree, health educator for Redfern health promotions, said this year they anticipate about 500 runners. Many of those runners will be members of Clemson’s fraternity and sorority chapters, as the Greek Programming Board has adopted the event as the culmination of this year’s “Greek Week,” April 14-18.

“Many of Clemson’s sororities already do philanthropic work for organizations that focus on domestic violence and sexual assault, such as Safe Harbor, so this event was a good fit for Greek Week,” said Goree. “There is already a lot of work on campus being done toward this cause.”

The “Take Back the Night Spring Music Festival,” featuring performances by local acts Heart to Heart, Joshua Stevens and Civil Twilight, will follow the race. Music will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Outdoor Theater. The concert, sponsored by CLEMSONLiVE and Greek Week 2008, is free and open to the public.

Race winners will receive cash prizes, and each pre-registered runner will receive a free T-shirt.

Pre-registration ends Thursday April 10, but runners can register before 5 p.m. the day of the event. Registration forms may be downloaded at www.clemson.edu/~shac. Registration is $10 before April 10 and $15 the day of the race. A group rate of $8 per runner is available for groups of eight or more.

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