Thursday, February 07, 2008
Philosophy Club presents Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues
 The USI Philosophy Club will present Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 14 in Carter Hall in the University Center. With a nearly sold-out show in the Rice Library auditorium in 2007, the club opted for a larger venue in Carter Hall this year. “The more we can raise to help the victims of sexual and domestic abuse, the more successful the event will be,” said Dr. Mary Lyn Stoll, advisor to the Philosophy Club. “More seats filled means that not only will more people get to enjoy Ensler’s work, but more women will be able to get the help they need after experiencing violence. We are really hoping that the USI community will turn out to make V-day a day of real victory over violence. We can show our love to all of the women in our lives by helping to support this event.” V-Day celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. V-day events have been staged in over 120 countries and have raised over $50 million dollars to help stop violence against women. The mission of V-day is to end rape, incest, battery, female genital mutilation, and sexual slavery. The Vagina Monologues will be performed all around the country on February 14 with proceeds going to help women who are the victims of violence. The USI production of The Vagina Monologues is headed up by senior philosophy major Jessica Jones and co-sponsored by Gender Studies. Stoll stressed that those who attended the event last year should come again this year. “We have loads of new performers and the monologues themselves change slightly every year,” she said. “This year we will be performing a special piece on Japanese women forced to have sex with soldiers during World War II that USI has never seen before.” Those attending USI’s V-Day are asked to contribute $3 each. Ninety percent of the proceeds will benefit Albion Fellows Bacon Center. In keeping with V-day’s 2008 theme, “Women of New Orleans,” 10 percent of proceeds go to women victims of Hurricane Katrina. This year the Philosophy Club will proudly display shirts from the Clothesline Project as a backdrop to the event. The Clothesline Project is a national effort to educate communities and help women heal from the impacts of domestic violence. Inspired by the AIDS quilt, the Clothesline Project began in 1990 and has since spread nationwide. Women make shirts to share their stories of domestic abuse. Various colors of shirts should indicate the kind of violence suffered. The shirts will be on display under the UC Bridge from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on February 14. They will reappear that evening in Carter Hall as a backdrop for The Vagina Monologues performance. The Clothesline Project at USI is organized by the Psychology of Gender Class and is sponsored by Delta Zeta. While the Clothesline Project is an independently organized event, the Philosophy Club was excited to work with other students to raise awareness about the impacts of domestic violence. “Having an entire day on campus with several groups bringing the message out helps to increase the positive impact,” Jones said. For more information on the Clothesline Project contact Maggie Felton at or visit clotheslineproject.org. For more information about The Vagina Monologues, contact Stoll or Jones. |
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