Protests erupt over The Vagina Monologues

For the past four years, students at Providence College have staged sold-out productions of Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues on campus without the support of the administration. Now, according to Providence College President Brian J. Shanley O.P., the curtain will not rise again this year.

In an e-mail sent out to members of the Providence College community last week, Father Shanley stated, "The Vagina Monologues is not an appropriate play to be performed on our campus. Therefore the college will prohibit the production of The Vagina Monologues."

Hearing the word "prohibit" was a bad sign for students who have already been working to plan this year's production, which was only a few weeks away. Erica Rioux '06, president of Women Will, was this year's coordinator of The Vagina Monologues.

Rioux was aware that Father Shanley was going to be faced with the decision to allow the performance to continue or not. Along with other students involved in the production, Rioux met with Father Shanley before the end of the fall semester to discuss the issue.

"After meeting with Father Shanley, I left his office with the impression that The Vagina Monologues would go on like it had in past years, permitted to occur by the school but without their support," said Rioux. "He told me that he wouldn't be any harder on us than Father Smith had been in the past."

In an interview on Friday, Father Shanley discussed many of his opinions about performing The Vagina Monologues at PC in more detail. When asked to sum up his main reason for canceling the performance, he said, "The depiction of female sexuality in The Vagina Monologues is at odds with the view of sexuality that the Roman Catholic Church promotes."

Father Shanley said that though he felt very strongly about his position, he went through a lengthy process of talking to students and other members of the College community to educate himself on the play. He said he also prayed to God for guidance to do what is right.

"I knew walking into this position that every year there had been an uproar," he said. "I've been thinking about this since I got the job and mulling it over since day one. In the process, I've talked to a lot of people and listened to their views."

Despite talking to a variety of people before making his decision, Father Shanley said he did not base his decision on what other Catholic colleges like Providence College had decided to do concerning the controversial play.

He said, "In making my decision, I did my homework and read a lot of other statements that Catholic College Presidents made, but I was not inspired by anyone in part. It finally came down to sitting down and asking myself, 'What do I really think about this?'"

Father Shanley said he also considered the fact that many women find the play liberating and empowering, but still opposed the production at PC because of the "uncatholic" content of the play.

"Besides, many women are also offended by the play," he continued.

Despite the nature of the College's campus culture, Father Shanley has made it clear that he does not believe The Vagina Monologues should disappear from campus in its entirety and that he wants students who receive a Providence College education to be exposed to a wide variety of ideas.

"I am not condemning the play, just the performance of it on this campus. I encourage people to read and study it," he said.

The College's decision to cancel the performance of The Vagina Monologues has brought about an abundance of media attention, both local and national. Articles about Father Shanley's decision were published in both The Providence Journal and The Boston Globe, as well as on a variety of Web sites. He also appeared on Arlene Violet's WHJJ talk radio show to discuss his choice. V-Day, the national organization which supports V-Day productions on college campuses, also issued a statement regarding the cancellation of the play on its Web site.

While Father Shanley said he did not expect the issue to cause such a stir outside of the College community, Rioux is hoping that it will continue to be noticed.

"My hope is that Catholic colleges will start working together to report this injustice to

the media so that all across the nation people will realize what is going on," she said.

James Maginot '06, a student who has participated in past years' productions and had planned to participate this year as well, agreed, saying, "I think a lot of students would agree with us that this should go on and their reactions are varied about it. Some get mad, some get sad, and some simply want to do something about it."

True to this, students from Providence College have been making their opinions known throughout the campus. White buttons printed with the words "I Love My Providence College Vagina" have been seen adorning the jackets and bags of a number of students on campus.

Past participants of productions of The Vagina Monologues on campus have also been seen wearing their cast and crew T-shirts from previous years.

On Wednesday afternoon, a rally was held in front of the River Avenue gates to Providence College where students gathered both to protest and support Father Shanley's decision.

More than two-hundred students protesting the play's cancellation chanted and held signs with such slogans as "Vaginas are not vulgar, censorship is" and "My vagina is beautiful, not disgraceful." Every third student to arrive at the rally was handed a red balloon to symbolize that one in three women is a victim of abuse in their lifetime.

"That's what's really vulgar, not The Vagina Monologues," Rioux shouted to the crowd at the rally regarding the statistic.

"I'm here because I don't think it is right that just because it is a Catholic school, people should push their morals and opinions on others," said Stephan Limirando '09.