Normally junior Marcy Reynolds wouldn’t have anything extremely exciting to do on a Tuesday night, but this week is a different story.

Reynolds, president of Making Our School an Intercultural Community (MOSAIC) and producer of this year’s “The Vagina Monologues,” will be attending the second annual “See Men Speak” event.

The event will be held 8 p.m. Tuesday at Racy D’Lene’s Very Coffee Lounge, 404 Riverside Ave. The event is free and open to the public, but donations for the Bolton Refuge House and the women of Iraq will be accepted.

“See Men Speak” is an open forum for men to perform their views on violence against women. Men may read and/or sing written works, as well as speak freely about such topics as “their penises in a very artsy form,” Reynolds said.

“I think it’s an important open forum for people to speak regarding penises, gender, etc.,” said sophomore Ali Shuda, coordinator of complimentary events for “The Vagina Monologues.”

This year, MOSAIC, V-Day and Housing and Residence Life will sponsor the event. It will be presented in conjunction with V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls, as well as “The Vagina Monologues.”

The V-Day College Campaign invites members of college and university communities around the world to present benefit productions of “The Vagina Monologues” to raise money and awareness to help stop the violence, according to a university press release.

“I think – for both students and the community – that it’s incredibly important because the Vagina Monologues (production) is typically viewed as an event for women only,” Reynolds said. “With the ‘See Men Speak’ event, men are able to have a face and a voice in the project.”

“It’s great to see men on stage getting in touch with their feelings,” she said.

It’s important to show men that “it’s not weird to do this, that all guys have these feelings, and that they don’t have to put on a fa‡ade,” she said.

Eau Claire’s Bolton Refuge House assists victims and families affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.

“We have a variety of programs (at the shelter) such as a transitional living program,” said Tabitha Lane, a shelter intervention worker at the Bolton Refuge House. This provides women with transitional housing after they leave the shelter, she said.

The portion of the donations given to Bolton Refuge House would also go towards the funding of other areas including economic and legal advocacy programs, counseling and support groups, as well as the purchase of food and personal hygiene supplies, Lane said.

“For both men and women, it’s important to come to this open mic because they’re not going to find anything like this during the rest of the year (here at Eau Claire) or throughout western Wisconsin,” Reynolds said. “So take a break, come down and have a good time.”