When most people see the term “V-Day,” they probably think of red roses, pink hearts and the feeling of love. But for anyone involved in this week’s Women’s Empowerment Week, V-Day has an entirely different meaning.
| Check out the V-day website |
The “V” in V-Day stands for victory, valentine and vagina. V-Day is a non-profit organization that generates funds to stop worldwide violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sexual slavery, according to the group’s Web site.
Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers, including college students, produce annual benefit performances of “The Vagina Monologues” to raise awareness and funds within their own communities, the site stated.
As a part of Women’s Empowerment Week, which runs today through Feb. 21, UW-Eau Claire students will have two performances of “The Vagina Monologues.” The shows will start at 7 p.m. today and Wednesday in Schofield Auditorium.
Senior Dusty Huebner will direct “The Vagina Monologues” performances, which are a collection of interviews collected by Eve Ensler done for her book of the same title.
“Eve traveled the world interviewing thousands of women about their vaginas,” Huebner said. “The results of her travels are the monologues of the show.”
The monologues vary greatly, but, in most cases, will fill listeners with tears — some due to laughter and some due to deep emotion, Huebner said. In addition, there will be an “I Love My Body” pageant, at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Tamarack Room of Davies Center.
“‘The ‘I Love My Body’ pageant is new this year,” Huebner said. “It will basically be a place to come and celebrate who you are, telling the audience why you love who and what you are and possibly how you have been empowered by ‘The Vagina Monologues.'”
The pageant is free and open to the public.
The “Groove You GrooVe” benefit concert will be at 8 p.m. Friday in the Council Fire Room of Davies Center.
During Friday’s show, local bands will play with open mic slots in between scheduled acts for people to who want to perform, said senior Meghan Matt, who is heading the event.
“The ‘Groove Your GrooVe’ event started as a way for guys to show their support even though they can’t be in the show,” Matt said. “It has turned into another night of fun and a way for everyone to show their support, men and women alike.”
Senior Laura van Zandt, president of MOSAIC, the group producing Women’s Empowerment Week, has been involved with the group since her sophomore year.
“We are considering all of these events a part of Women’s Empowerment Week, although all the events don’t take place in one week,” van Zandt said. “This is the first year we have tried to coordinate so many events, but so far everyone’s been working hard and pulling it off really well.”
A raffle has been going on as well, and the winners will be shown at the performances, van Zandt said. Several local businesses have donated prizes and there will be a silent art auction run by junior Leslie Vaglica. At the performances, artwork donated by various people will be bid on, van Zandt said.
According to www.vday.org, the V-Day corporation was named one of Worth magazine’s “100 Best Charities” in 2001. In its first five years, the V-Day movement has raised over $14 million, with over $7 million raised in 2002.
Huebner started up “The Vagina Monologues” in Eau Claire by convincing her hall director to do a small reading as an “all-hall” event in March 2001. She said she hopes to spread the message about violence against women and to increase local awareness. “Seeing the amazing interest that the show generated from that one night (in 2001), with people sitting on top of people in Towers TV Lounge, has encouraged me to continue the tradition,” Huebner said.
Tickets for “The Vagina Monologues” are $3 with an Eau Claire student ID and $6 for the general public. “Groove You GrooVe” will have a $4 cover charge. Ninety percent of all proceeds made from the events will go to Eau Claire’s Bolton Refuge House, with the remaining 10 percent going to V-Day.
