by Nikki Knisley
The tension in the room at the Oct. 3 city council meeting was palpable when discussion centered on a special event request to close portions of College Avenue and Minnesota Street for 30 minutes during the Oct. 13 Central MN Take Back the Night march and rally.
Dani Lindner, the OVW Project EMBRACE grant director at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, represented CSB as event planning co-chair, in partnership with the Central MN Sexual Assault Center.
Lindner tried to explain the history of the event but was interrupted several times. Councilman Kevin Kluesner was uncharacteristically animated as he stridently asserted, “I understand and support the mission of the event, but I don’t support closing down [parts of] College Avenue and Minnesota Street.”
Councilwoman Kelly Beniek provided additional explanation regarding the importance of the actual march, but it seemed to go unnoticed by the rest of the council.
According to CMSAC’s website, “Take Back the Night is an international rally and march organized to unify women, men and children in an awareness of violence against women, children and families.” Grown from the history of women’s marches in England and Belgium, marches in the United States have been held since 1978 to recognize survivors of sexual and domestic violence and to protest such violence. The event concludes with a march of event speakers and attendees down the middle of a community street to confront the silence that too often surrounds these issues. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the event in central Minnesota.
When asked by the council, Police Chief Pfannenstein voiced his concerns that if the route was approved as initially submitted he may not have enough officers to provide an effective visible presence.
“We’ve seen across the country that people are willing to drive into crowds,” Pfannenstein said. He cited safety concerns for participants, residents and officers alike.
“We know this is a big ask,” Lindner said, and shared that she was exploring alternate routes with the head of CSB Campus Security.
“It would be different if 2,000 people were going to be marching,” Kluesner retorted, contradicting his and other council members’ insistence that the inconvenience of residents was their central concern.
Beniek attempted to propose what sounded like a compromise route, but it was difficult to discern as there were several individuals speaking at once.
After a few additional minutes of discussion, Councilman John Hazen explained if the route was shortened and marchers utilized the sidewalk on College Avenue, then only a portion of Minnesota Street would need to be secured.
The appeal of this compromise led to the event’s unanimous approval by the council stipulating Hazen’s adjusted march route. Upon Lindner’s request, the council also voted unanimously to waive the permit fee.
Afterward, Lindner was pleased. “We (CSB) value our relationship with the city,” she said. “I was pleased the council and the city saw the value of taking the streets during the event through their compromise on the march route and their waiver of the permit fee.”
The Central MN Take Back the Night rally and march will take place rain or shine from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13 on the campus of CSB. For more information, go to Central MN Sexual Assault Center’s website at https://cmsac.org/central-mn-take-back-the-night-2019/.
