By Laura Rodell
While Valentine’s Day is the celebration of romance, V-Day, a group dedicated to raising awareness of violence against women, proposes that Feb. 14 be a day for both global examination of women’s struggles and celebration of their triumphs.
In order to explore women’s issues, the University is taking part in the International 2005 V-Day College Initiative by staging a performance of “The Vagina Monologues” this week.
Jill Alboum, executive producer of the performances said, 90 percent of proceeds will be directly donated to the Coalition Against Domestic Violence Inc. of Nassau County, a non-profit organizations advocating an end violence toward women and girls.
“Domestic violence is a huge problem and, unfortunately, it doesn’t get nearly enough attention. It’s places like the coalition that help women and families in need and give them a safe place,” Alboum said.
The remaining 10 percent of proceeds will go to the V-Day organization’s 2005 project- championing the rights of Iraqi women. Local and school communities’ actions will serve as a catalyst for positive change in the situation of women abroad.
According to the program’s Web site, V-Day is a non-profit corporation created in 1998 to combat issues affecting women and girls such as rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sexual slavery. The organization helps fund local, national and international organizations striving to improve the quality of life for women in the U.S. and other countries.
Through the efforts of college students and other volunteers, V-Day stages benefits, produces films and holds summits to spread their vision of non-violence throughout North America and parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
V-Day founder and “Monologues” author, Eve Ensler, advocates an end to violence against women with a passion that has ignited a global movement, crossing traditional barriers of nation, culture, and age. Her play examines the physical and emotional trauma that affect all women in today’s society.
“Eve Ensler asked women of different ages and all walks of life about their experiences and based on the responses she solicited, each character in the play tells her own story in a monologue,” senior Christina Cipriano said.
V-Day members and supporters have christened Valentine’s Day simply V-day, designating it a time to reflect on women’s many “victories,” both those past and those yet to come.
According to the V-Day website, “One of the goals of the [College] Campaign is to empower young people — the leaders, shapers and messengers of the future.”
V-day hopes to generate at least $6,000 for each event, a sum the University has already met and has high aspirations of exceeding.
“The response we have received has been overwhelming and I’m pleased to say the Hofstra community has been very supportive,” Alboum said.
“There’s so much work going into this production and everyone is so supportive of each other — it’s been a really great bonding experience,” said Cipriano of her fellow cast and crew.
The performance of “Monologues” is sponsored by the School of Communications, in conjunction with the University’s chapter of the Association for Women in Communication (AWC. The AWC, whose members have been raising funds for the play, is proud to announce that this year’s show will be acted and produced solely by University students.
Show times are Feb. 18, 19 and 20 at 8 p.m. in Monroe Lecture Center Theatre. Tickets are $12 for students, faculty and staff with valid school identification; $14 for non-University students; $20 for seniors and $23 for adults.
Alboum, encourages all to attend the performance.
“This experience has been wonderful for me because it taught me a lot about both the producing end of a theater, as I am a professional stage manager, and about how affected communities are by domestic violence,” she said. “I’m glad our production can be a fun experience for everyone involved, while doing good for the Nassau County and Hofstra communities.”