About 75 students huddled under the Campanile, sipped hot chocolate and bonded in a silent moment to honor sexual assault victims and survivors Monday night.

Theta Chi fraternity hosted their fourth annual sexual assault candlelight vigil. Pi Beta Phi and Phi Kappa Psi additionally supported the event and spread further awareness on campus and among their members.

Local speakers united to spark further sexual assault prevention from students on Monday’s cold, snowy night.

“It’s going to take more than our silent agreement,” said Amy Popillion, a human sexuality professor at Iowa State, and survivor of childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault as a late teen.

She said that attending the candlelight vigil is a great start, but in the future, those in attendance need to act for change to occur. She speaks at fraternity and sorority houses, educational events and at late, snowy vigils because she’s impressed by the current work happening in the Greek community.

By continuing her talks, she hopes to encourage further participation.

Bobby Dennis, a sexual assault advocate in the Ames location for Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support (ACCESS), also hopes to initiate further action from college students and adults. He said that the conversations prepare students for future situations where they might need to hold co-workers accountable for rape jokes or console a sexually assaulted friend.

A woman in Pi Beta Phi and previous president of Greeks Ending Violence Now, read aloud a personal poem. She described a night of nonconsensual actions, with two males while on a couch crowded with people who should have stopped them.

“When they were a victim, no, when they were a survivor,” she said about gymnasts, actresses, college girls found behind dumpsters and herself.

Her poem was a new and unique addition to the annual vigil, said Wyatt Metcalf, vice president of health and safety (VPHS) for Theta Chi. He said that the crowd appeared impacted by the poem since it hits close to home.

Anna Toot, a Pi Beta Phi member, said that the poem exemplifies how someone will always know someone affected by sexual assault. Recovery and healing resources for victims are subpar though.

“There’s increasingly a lack of space for victims to find support, to grieve, for a moment for victims to experience their emotions,” Dennis said.

A large part of ACCESS is supporting students and the community’s ability and responsibility to prevent sexual assault and domestic violence Dennis said. ACCESS is a resource available to all, ranging from advice to programming, because members of the center want to equip the community to continue prevention.

As the fraternity that created the awareness and prevention event, Theta Chi hopes to inspire conversation and action on campus.

Metcalf and Toot hope that the event can be campus-wide in the future.

Metcalf said Theta Chi plans to improve marketing future events towards students, faculty and the Ames community because most in attendance on Monday were from the Greek community.

It takes small steps, but Metcalf said he is hopeful the event will be campus-wide in years after him.

Metcalf said next year’s fifth annual candlelight vigil will potentially occur in the fall in hopes of warmer weather and an increased turnout.

“Survivors, you’re not alone, and we can’t do it alone,” Popillion said. “It takes everyone.”