To the Editor:
For some time I have followed with interest the affirmative action debate being covered in The Hurricane. What astounds me the most isn’t that the debate is going on, but the criticisms of ACT, the organization that planned the original bake sale. It’s not surprising that such a debate exists, especially on this campus that hosts a large variety of breeds and schools of thought, but I’m disappointed in the tone and attitude that somehow, by legally and somewhat tactfully expressing their opinion, ACT has done something wrong.
I wondered if it was the shock value of the campaign, and that maybe the means to deliver the message was the controversial point that sparked all this debate. But when I turn on the television, I can’t help but be inundated with ads telling of the millions of people dying of smoking each year, children drowning while the baby sitter smokes pot and my personal favorite, an ad that runs on the BBC that graphically shows a small child being hit by a car traveling at 50 miles an hour. Yet, none of these ads have been mentioned in any political arena on campus, let alone with the same manner of fear and hatred that the ACT bake sale was, and all of these ads have an arguably far greater shock value.
I’m not sure if anyone has watched the news recently, or read the last edition of The Hurricane, but the controversy that seems to be headlining is Gay Marriage. It’s ironic how SpectrUM had nothing nearly as controversial to say in the paper about that.
Sincerely,
Sam Phillips
To the Editor:
I was sadly disappointed in The Hurricane’s recent review of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler (not “Eva” as she was credited). It seems that Mr. Twiggar missed the point of the performances completely. Perhaps he perceived the play to be “anti-male,” but as one of the performers, I would like to state that “male-bashing” was never a factor in any part of the production. In fact, none of the actresses ever believed that her piece would be construed in that way.
The fact that Mr. Twiggar believes you have to “have ‘one’ (by which I assume he means a VAGINA, it’s okay, you can say it!) to get it” is exactly the kind of attitude V-Day is protesting against. The performances were staged by dedicated women, not necessarily actresses, committed to bringing other women’s stories of violence and hope to the audience, thereby raising awareness of a variety of experiences. The Monologues were sometimes performed by multiple actresses in order to emphasize diversity within common experience.
Mr. Twiggar lamented the absence of solutions to the issues presented in The Monologues. Again, he missed the point. The point is that there currently are no solutions to these issues. The Monologues were staged as part of an ongoing dialogue of people the world over who seek to create viable solutions. But their work is unraveled when people come to the performances without open minds and hearts, without being ready to listen and ready to respond to what is being said.
I’m saddened to realize that some missed the incredibly uplifting point of The Vagina Monologues: that change is possible if we all come together and begin to do taboo things like “communally shouting words that can’t be printed in this paper.” It’s the people who shouted the loudest who are working the hardest to change the world. I’m proud to know the group of women who, for two nights at the beginning of March, did change the world for some by bringing The Vagina Monologues to the University of Miami.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Egolf – a vagina!