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(02/24/16 2:09am)
By Thomas Infante
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Brave, charismatic and angry are not three words that are traditionally considered synonymous with “vagina.” However, The Vagina Monologues is far from a normal production. The show’s raw language and thought-provoking subject matter forced the audience to think about the vagina in both a literal and a symbolic sense, and the result is quite different than any other theater experience.
The Women in Learning and Leadership (WILL) program produced the annual show, which was performed during the weekend of Friday, Feb. 19, to Sunday, Feb. 21, in Mayo Concert Hall.
The Vagina Monologues has seen much exposure and success since its conception by playwright Eve Ensler in 1996. Ensler has received multiple awards for the script, which has since been adapted into an off-Broadway play, as well as a televised version produced by HBO.
“Ensler spoke to over 200 women to get the ideas for the show,” said freshman women’s and gender studies major and Vagina Monologues performer Molly Knapp. “The identities are kept anonymous so that the stories are more relatable to the audience.”
The show featured a variety of accounts with highly varied subject matters. Some of the monologues were lighthearted and silly, while others were dark and depressing.
One of the funniest monologues, titled “The Flood,” detailed the story of an elderly woman who wasn’t particularly proud of her vagina. Senior English and self-design publishing and editing double major performed the monologue.
“Down there? I haven’t been down there since 1953,” Acebal joked on stage, imitating a heavy New York accent. “And no, it had nothing to do with Eisenhower.”
Almost all of the monologues were performed solo. The background set was minimal, featuring only a few bleachers for the other actresses to sit on after they had finished with a giant letter ‘V’ projected behind them. It was a surreal setting for a similarly surreal display of performance art.
Much of the audience seemed to be at a loss for words while listening to the more explicit and bizarre monologues, one of which was performed by senior communications major Jackie Kuczinki. It featured the actress feigning orgasms for several minutes without end.
“During the first night there was an old man sitting in the front row during her performance,” Knapp said. “Watching his awkward reactions (was) incredible. He shielded his eyes and looked at the floor.”
The older man’s reaction echoed the sentiments of many audience members during certain performances, but didn’t shock the performers. The raw nature of some monologues would inevitably be off-putting to some audience members.
“We were really nervous about bringing this show to a wider audience than the people we usually work with,” freshman communication studies and women’s and gender studies double major Katherine Smith said.
“The Vagina Monologues” marked the first time Smith ever acted on a stage.
“We just want to get people talking about vaginas,” Smith said. “Talking about vaginas is more of a societal taboo than it should be, considering how many people have them.”
The most powerful monologues were those that featured very serious and saddening topics. At one point, a shocking statistic was presented to the audience — 130 million women and girls around the world today have been victims of female genital mutilation and this number is, unfortunately, still growing.
Moments like these serve as a reminder of the true importance of being able to talk about these pressing yet uncomfortable issues. Only once we can openly and maturely discuss theses issues can we begin working to resolve them. This seemed to be the mission of the show and its performers. The monologues made a clear statement that there are times when vaginas need to be discussed, and nobody should feel the need to shy away from such discussion.
(02/09/16 8:41pm)
By Thomas Infante
Correspondent
The Recreation Center was home to one of the most unconventional pastimes on the evening of Friday, Feb. 5. In a place where students would normally gather to play tennis or basketball stood three teams of students with scooter boards and buckets in their hands. They all faced the center of the court, where a multitude of colorful balls lay on the floor — but not for long. The name of the game was “Human Hungry Hippos.”
A real-life reimagining of the Hungry Hungry Hippos board game, the rules of “Human Hungry Hippos” are simple. Each team must have at least two members: one to lie on the scooter face-down and another to guide the scooter towards the middle of the court. The player on the scooter is responsible for trapping as many balls as possible with the bucket without using any hands. The other player must then guide his teammate back to their goal, where the balls are accumulated.
The event was truly a sight to behold. At first, some of the players seemed off-put by the sheer absurdity of the game. Once the scooters began to pick up speed, however, the only concern of the giggling players was how quickly they could win.
“It’s all about teamwork. You definitely need to have a lot of energy,” sophomore early childhood education and psychology double major Katie Burns said. As with all of the players present that day, this was Burns’s first time playing the game. “It’s fun and I hope we get to do it again next year.”
Although the game might seem silly to a bystander, it is naïve to assume that a game so whimsical would also be easy.
“It feels a little like you’re flying. It seems like you’re going much faster than you would think,” senior psychology major Andrew Edelblum said.
Edelblum, standing easily over six feet tall, said that he felt “a little cramped” on the scooter that most people haven’t utilized since elementary school.
“The lack of control and the awkward positioning just adds to the challenge,” he said. “I wish I could have played this in elementary school. It’s a great idea.”
All the players seemed to agree that both the most difficult and fun role on the team is to be the player tasked with riding the scooter.
“It’s really hard to steer,” said Emma Wiley, a freshman secondary education and Spanish dual major who wore a GoPro camera while sliding and spinning around the floor. “It’s a surprisingly intense workout. You have to keep your legs up so they don’t drag on the floor and slow you down.”
Wiley also emphasized the importance of teamwork as a key strategy for the game.
“It’s hard to tell where you’re going. You’re very reliant on your teammate,” Wiley said.
Overseeing the event was Lisette Stanzione, the late-night activities coordinator for the College.
“Hippos don’t have hands!” she yelled at a player frantically attempting to stuff balls into his bucket before the game ended. Stanzione and her team of assisting students kept time and helped players learn the rules of the game.
“We host activities like this four days a week,” Stanzione said. “Events range from life-sized board games like this to more traditional sports.”
Stanzione’s goal is for everyone participating to get involved and have fun doing so. Based on the laughter and smiles from the players present that night, it appears she is succeeding.
“We try to create events that everyone will enjoy and want to participate in,” Stanzione said. “We always welcome co-sponsorships from anyone who is interested.”
While attendance to past events has ranged from 10 to over 100 people, one thing is for sure — no matter how many or how few people come to participate, everyone involved will find themselves inevitably smiling.
(11/10/15 6:58pm)
By Thomas Infante
Correspondent
The College has been fundraising for years, but Thursday, Nov. 5, marked the first ever Day of Giving. In just one day, the College was able to raise over $72,000 with 788 donors.
The wall on Green Lawn remains covered in loving praises from many of the College’s students, indicative of the school pride that resonates throughout the campus. Alumni, faculty and student volunteers cheerfully encouraged passing students to take pictures with Roscoe the Lion or enjoy free cider and coffee.
Several activities were set up for students and alumni to participate in, including a photo booth, a “Wheel of Fortune” with prizes and a game to pin a varsity letter on Roscoe. These activities encouraged students to donate, but more importantly, showcased students’ pride in the College.
“The Day of Giving is an effort to get both current students and alumni involved in the donating process together,” said senior psychology major Michelle Borrero, who volunteered during the day. “We hope that alumni will see current students donating and feel more inclined to donate themselves.”
The College’s Office of Development is now utilizing a “crowdfunding” model in order to gather donations. This model has proved incredibly successful for many entrepreneurs in recent years, with websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo raising millions of dollars to fund projects such as video games, new computer software and new technologies.
The Day of Giving is the College’s way of combining student participation in fundraising with alumni support. In some cases, individuals will promise to donate a sum of money only once a certain amount of people have contributed. For example, Derek Wan, a 2001 graduate, promised to donate $5,000 after 500 students had contributed to the Day of Giving — a challenge that was met.
The idea is that Wan’s goal would encourage students to donate even a small quantity, and upon seeing the extensive student participation, more alumni will continue to donate.
“When the campus community supports giving, it is much more apt to leverage external support,” said Melissa Lide, the associate director of Annual Giving at the College. “The event also acts as a proxy for grant donations, which are encouraged by high alumni participation rates.”
According to Lide, most of the donations made on the Day of Giving go toward the College’s annual fund, which supports general operating costs, scholarship rewards and opportunities to study abroad, among many other costs.
“All students eventually become alumni, so the Day of Giving fosters a charitable attitude throughout the entire TCNJ community,” Lide said.
Lide was also “overjoyed” with the level of support exhibited by the campus community.
“Many people wanted to be a part of the event,” Lide said.
In fact, there were more than 100 student volunteers and around 60 alumni and faculty volunteers present throughout the day helping coordinate event activities.
Emphasis was put on maintaining a presence on social media in order to raise awareness for the event by using the hashtag #OneDayTCNJ. In a crowdfunding model, it is very important to keep contributors updated on how close the campaign is to achieving its goal. Social media also promotes fundraising from users through peer-to-peer interaction.
More than simply an opportunity to donate, the Day of Giving is a showcase of unity amongst students from the College, both past and present. A day such as this shows that one’s ‘Lion’s Pride’ never fades, even years after graduation.