The V-Day event was presented by the Women’s Studies faculty, staff and students. The all-women cast performed excerpts from three famous works, “The Vagina Monologues,” “Myriam” and “The Memory of Her Face.”
The performance program, printed on red paper, offered credit to the performers as well as background and history on V-DAY, a nonprofit corporation which distributes funds and donations to national and international grassroots organizations that work to stop violence against women. “The Vagina Monologues, a V-DAY event” is described as a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls (the “V” stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina).
The V-DAY movement, gaining popularity across the world, stages large-scale benefits and produces innovative gatherings — like the one seen on campus today — which educate and change social attitudes towards violence against women. In 2010, more than 5,400 V-Day events took place around the world, raising $75 million and reaching over 300 million people.
“All the proceeds from the production will be donated to the Battered Women’s Shelter in San Antonio,” said Counselor Disability Services Coordinator Jolene DesRoches, who helped organize the event.
According to the V-Day website, “College and community activists raise an annual average of $4 million for local groups such as domestic violence shelters and rape crises centers.”
Inside Advertising
Works such as the “The Vagina Workshop” performed by Dr. Ann Bliss and “The Memory of Her Face,” performed by Cyndy Cervantez and Sarah Little were received with loud applause. The recognition was met with pride by the performers, who took the stage in elegant black outfits and red accessories and shoes.
Performers were unsure how many people would attend the performance. Advertisements were missing this month in the annex halls and in the student center. There were no fundraisers or speeches to promote the production. This was not due to bad marketing, said the organizers, but due to the fact that the University administration declined permission to post any advertisements on campus bulletin boards. This was in stark contrast to Texas A&M-College Station which dedicates web presence at http://vday.tamu.edu/execs, just one link from the university’s homepage. The site, maintained by Student Activities, recognizes TAMU V-DAY as a student organization dedicated to violence against women.
Closed door meetings between the administration and the Women’s Studies Faculty led to speculation among the student performers, who were pleased the production would go on as planned, but wanted specific reasons why they were not allowed to post flyers or use the University’s social media interface.
In reaction, Sarah Little created a separate facebook page where over 150 community members were invited to attend.
“I had spoken with several staff members who seemed vague about the exact details of reasoning behind the administrators’ decision,” said senior English major and V-Day actor Jena-Lyn Root. “Everyone I did speak with told me they were not allowed to talk about it. The theory is that students would be offended and children might see the word ‘vagina’ on posters.”
The Office of the President responded promptly when asked about the decision to disallow fliers or posters on campus. A statement provided to The Mesquite was issued by Marilu Reyna, director of University Communications.
“The publicity/promotion for the VM production was disseminated to TAMU-SA faculty members to promote at their discretion in their classes. Due to the limited amount of space for public displays on our campus and in consideration for those students who bring young children to the campus the administration of Texas A&M University-San Antonio only advised that promotion for VM not be in the form of fliers or posters.”
A petition, which has been in circulation for two weeks, had 60 signatures prior to the performance and was expected to grow, according to Root. Another document in circulation, authored by an anonymous source, was addressed directly to President Ferrier expressing gratitude for providing individuals for the “opportunity to be exposed to differed perspectives and ideas” and how important it is that students be given the “chance to explore diverse opinions and perspectives.” The petitions were scheduled to be delivered to the Office of the President following the performance.
Root said she was curious behind the decision-making process that allows some flyers to get a stamp of approval while others are rejected.
Referring to the Bible study fliers in the annex classrooms, Root said, “The recent postings of glitter induced fliers about Bible meetings on campus made me become enraged at the idea of a singular perspective public institution.”
Senior psychology major and V-Day performer Sarah Little said she was confused by the University’s decision.
“I was mostly shocked that they made the big step to allow the production, then crippled it by refusing to allow advertising,” she said. “I think the fact that there was not support made me want to participate even more. The purpose of V-day is too important to let politics interfere,” she added.
Psychology senior Michael Ramirez and English junior Stormy Collins, both of whom attended the production, said they were excited about supporting the Women’s Studies event.
“It’s something different,” Ramirez said. “I thought it would be interesting to see an actual school production. And it was great. The performers looked like they were having a lot of fun.”
Collins, who was also impressed with the performance, attended the event to show support.
“Watching people who you know from class perform is a great experience. I also attended to support local charities and giving back to the community,” she said.
English Professor Dr. Rebecca Brown said she got involved in the production because she wanted to know what kinds of issues The Vagina Monologues tackled. The best way for her to learn, she said, was to get involved.
“The production seeks to demystify the word vagina,” Brown said. “The production aims to educate its audience by candidly confronting a range of subjects including feminine hygiene products, sexual abuse, trips to the gynecologist’s office, and (this year) genital mutilation.”
English Professor Dr. Ann Bliss believes this production can be a tool to create awareness about violence towards women.
“If women are aware of inappropriate sexualizing, they are more likely to resist it. I think it’s important that women understand the many ways in which they can be abused, and also that they are aware of how women’s bodies are overly sexualized,” Bliss said.
V-DAY 2012
Members of the production team, who planned the event months ahead of time, felt positive that the production was a success, and said they are excited to be honoring Women’s History Month which ends tomorrow. Predictions for an even larger, more successful event on campus for spring 2012 were met with enthusiasm.
“I don’t doubt that there will be a production next year and that it will only be more successful,” Little said.
For more information about V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, visit the V-Day web site at www.vday.org
The 2011program is available upon request. Please comment on this article below.
