Our school’s drama club is putting on a play called the Vagina Monologues. It’s a play about Sex, Sexuality and Rape. You can read a summary of the original play here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vagina_Monologues
The thing is, the school isn’t allowing the students to really advertise it.
From Tenor
I know…I had this exact reaction.
I couldn’t believe that we still live in a culture where censorship of this kind is appropriate or acceptable. I also did not expect to see it at Santa Clara University where they make a point of looking like they allow students to stand up and speak out on major issues. Hell, when I went through freshmen orientation, we all had to watch a movie on sexual assault.
So why is a school that promotes standing up for victims of sexual assault and has it in their mission to stand up for justice, censoring a play around these very topics?
This question still stumps me and it doesn’t seem in line with everything else the school stands for.
It bugs me that I’ve had to hear about the play from my classmates who have had to interrupt class to advertise this play. They’ve clearly worked hard on this play and it’s an important play to watch especially on a college campus where, sadly, sexual assault is common.
Where’s our freedom of expression?
Is it that students can speak out on certain controversial topics, but not others?
Is the school worried that plastering the word vagina all over campus would scare away potential students?
What does this say about Santa Clara as a school and a community?
I haven’t looked into the schools reason for this censorship, but I personally believe it’s a mix of scaring away potential students and the school worrying that the Vagina Monologues is a little bit too R-rated for campus.
Both of these reasonings drive me crazy.
Hiding parts of the school that may seem to risky or abrasive for visitors is ridiculous to me. It paints the school as a place where the image of a beautiful campus and smiling students is more important than allowing students to talk about real issues. Having a campus support play such as the Vagina Monologues doesn’t fit with the schools carefully crafted image.
Or there is the even more ludicrous possibility that the Vagina Monologues are too inappropriate for a college campus.
From Giphy
Almost makes me laugh. The hypocrisy that a play that talks about real issues in our world would be more inappropriate than the things that happen every weekend off campus. But come to think about it the school employs the same tactic with drinking and drug use. Out of sight, out of mind.
Clean campus my ass.
Now I love my school, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes the schools actions and policies frustrate me.
That’s a whole other tangent, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the school is hiding a controversial, but important play. I’m not saying the school should become Berkeley with demonstrations left and right, but sweeping a play under the rug is unfair to the students involved in the production and to anyone who possibly could’ve learned something from the play.
On a quick side note, but not exactly a side note this is something that influenced my research into the topic of women’s rights at SCU and made me interested in the article that I found about abortion at SCU.
Anyways on the previous topic,
It’s disappointing.