‘Monologues’ proceeds to help women and children

IU Northwest faculty, staff and students gather together to help stop the violence against women

By Ami Mink, Staff writer of the Northwest Phoenix student newspaper

About 300 people attended each of the three performances of the Vagina Monologues, which generated an estimated $3,500. The third performance was added because of the overwhelming number of people who responded to the event.

Ana Osan, associate professor of Spanish, said all the proceeds are going to the Rainbow Shelter in Gary. The Rainbow Shelter is a government agency dedicated to women and children who are victims of domestic violence and rape.

“It was an opportunity to work together with a cross section of the campus community in a very daring and liberating show,” said Danille Taylor-Guthrie, chairperson of the Department of Minority Studies.

Monique Fredline, the show’s director, said many of the women in the show had no previous theatrical experience but took the play and their roles very seriously.

Cynthia O’Dell, associate professor of psychology, has seen the Vagina Monologues several times and said being involved in the production was an amazing experience. “One aspect of the monologues that really stands out is that they represent the voices of every woman. There are commonalities of experience that ring forth—experiences we all have had even though we may not have spent much time talking about them.”

Student Anne Koehler, who is also unit head of Library System Services, said the important part of the monologues for her was the awareness and light shed upon a taboo subject.

Vagina Monologues also was a chance for women from different groups and backgrounds to bond with new friends and grow closer to older ones.

“If we raised one person’s awareness or validated even one woman’s feelings, the whole thing was worth the effort,” Fredline said. She added that she is very proud to be associated with a group of women who are as brave and fierce in their determination as these women are.

(Editor’s note: The IU Northwest V-Day reading performance of “The Vagina Monologues” was Feb. 14. A March 1 performance was sold out and an additional performance was scheduled March 2 at the Savannah Center Auditorium. V-Day is a worldwide movement to stop violence against women and girls and to proclaim Valentine’s Day as the day to celebrate women. The movement was inspired by the world premiere of “The Vagina Monologues” at HERE, an off-Broadway theater in New York City. The first V-Day was in 1998, with a performance of the play by such famous women as Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Lily Tomlin and Calista Flockhart.