After more than a year of debate on campus, "The Vagina Monologues" finally made its debut as part of an Honors Program symposium entitled, "An Academic Conversation on Catholicism, Sexuality, and Human Rights featuring a reading of The Vagina Monologues.,”

More than 200 students filled the Helfaer Theatre Saturday evening to hear 13 students talk about their vaginas.

After more than a year of debate on campus, "The Vagina Monologues" made its return to Marquette as part of an Honors Program symposium entitled "An Academic Conversation on Catholicism, Sexuality, and Human Rights featuring a reading of 'The Vagina Monologues'." The monologues were last performed during the 2002-'03 school year.

The symposium began with an introduction by Heather Hathaway, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. Hathaway addressed the play's strengths and weaknesses, as well as its troubled relationship with Catholic campuses.

She said she had concerns with the play's reduction of women to physical identity and its colonial undertones that focus on violence against women in mostly Third World countries.

But despite these flaws, Hathaway said the play "commands the attention of you in ways that little else does" and is especially relevant to Jesuit values.

"If we value critical pedagogy that engages activism and social justice, isn't 'The Vagina Monologues,' in what it does and fails to do, an ideal vehicle?" she said.

After the hour-and-a-half performance, about 90 students stuck around for a panel discussion of the issues present in the monologues.

Amelia Zurcher, associate professor of English, spoke on the rape culture in society and how "The Vagina Monologues" is a protest of that culture. Rape culture is a term that refers to society's attitudes and beliefs about gender that keep violence toward women prevalent.

Richard Friman, Eliot Fitch Chair for International Studies and professor of political science, talked about the difficulties in reporting numbers in human trafficking and the debate about whether prostitution is a form of human trafficking.

Theresa Tobin, assistant professor of philosophy, brought to the table the philosophical need for something like "The Vagina Monologues" in society.

Finally, Rosalind Hinton, assistant professor of religious studies at DePaul University, discussed the play's relationship to Catholic ideals and sexuality.

Kerida O'Reilly, a College of Health Sciences sophomore and one of the play's performers, said of all the issues discussed, the relationship between the monologues and Catholicism was less "point-counterpoint."

"I did not hear anyone at the event saying it shouldn't be here," she said. "There were definitely people who didn't necessarily think the monologues were the best way to talk about domestic violence, but they are a way to talk about domestic violence."

"The Vagina Monologues" ispart of the V-Day campaign, a global movement aimed at stopping violence against women by raising awareness and money for activist organizations. While donations for the V-Day campaign are normally suggested in conjunction with the performance, the symposium was not a fundraiser.

O'Reilly said the performance and discussion got people on campus interested in these issues, but that it was a long night for the performers and the audience because of the program's setup.

In order to get the monologues on campus, O'Reilly said program organizers were required to hold the formal discussion directly after the performance.

"Last year, when we did the performance off-campus, we did an informal talkback," she said. "I felt like that worked better. We still got into the tough stuff, but people were more attentive."

Still, O'Reilly said she was happy with the turnout and the dialogue.

"I don't think these ideas are revolutionary on campus, but it's an important piece of art and a different way to get people interested in the issues," she said.

Provost Madeline Wake, one of the symposium's key supporters, said in an e-mail that she was also pleased with the discussion the play generated.

"Important issues of humanness were addressed in Saturday's program," Wake said in the e-mail. "Such discourse is what a university stands for."

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