Dental students and faculty helped lead the procession at Wednesday’s annual Take Back the Night march and rally, a campus tradition since 2001 to protest sexual and relational violence, while honoring those who’ve been victimized.
Joining a number of other campus units and organizations, members of UofL’s chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists marched in honor of May 2017 graduate, Claire Van Landingham, DMD, Lt. U.S. Navy, who died Jan. 3 when she was gunned down in North Chicago by an ex-boyfriend.
The event lends a voice to individuals like Claire.
“Claire was a light to the world, someone who unconditionally cared for others,” said P. Gay Baughman, DMD, UofL’s AAWD chapter faculty advisor. “She had an enthusiasm for life that couldn’t go unnoticed and she touched the lives of so many.”
UofL’s Take Back the Night program is part of a national effort to unite individuals from all walks of life to speak out against violence, while drawing attention to resources available to help victims. The UofL PEACC Center is the primary organizer of the event. This year’s theme was “To Rise Again.”
