6 M february 2002
ncssm I the stentorian
Emily Currin
& Crystal Jeon
W ell boys and girls,
it’s that dreaded
time of the year
again. Report cards? Try
again. Prom? Not quite. It’s
the time when the big “V-
word” clouds our vision and
creates much turmoil.
Valentine’s Day used to be so
much more enjoyable back in
second grade when everyone
was required to make a
valentine for the entire class.
Now valentines are made for
that “special someone.”
Whichever way one feels,
Valentine’s Day is a holiday
filled with love, stress, and
most importantly,
gleeful fun.
It’s hard to
believe that under
neath all the lovey-
dovey, icky mush, the
history of Valentine’s
Day actually began
with a saint. Saint
Valentine. One legend tells of
how Valentine was executed
for continuing to marry cou
ples even after Emperor
Claudius II outlawed mar
riage for his young soldiers.
Another tells how Valentine
fell in love with his jailor’s
daughter, and before his exe
cution, left her a letter
signed: “From your
Valentine,” thus becoming
the first to use the eventful
phrase.
In today’s times the his
tory behind Valentine’s Day
is not important; it’s more
about getting the right gift,
being extra sweet to your
someone, and deciding what
love really is. At Science
and Math, this sugarcoated
holiday tends to bring out
either the best or the worst in
students. Sighs of content or
groans of disapproval arise
when Valentine’s Day is
mentioned. Take one junior.
VolmCCn
Sweet and r
just a pathetic exc
^Valentine's Day used to be so
much more enjoyable back in
second grade when everyone
was required to make a
valentine for the entire class, j
Brij Verma, for example.
When asked what word came
to mind when he heard about
Valentine’s Day, he said,
“sweet.” He is looking for
ward to going out with a date
on Valentine’s Day, and is
keeping his surprise for her
under close wraps. He says
that it is actually less stress
ful having a girlfriend on
Valentine’s Day than
not having one.
When another stu
dent was asked what
he thought about
Valentine’s Day, he
quickly replied in a
robotic tone,
“WebAssign.” To
go even further, several
males responded with a care
less, “I don’t really think
about it much.” Hopefully
they won’t question why they
are dateless on V-Day.
Girls have a different
"Out of the three words:
sweet, stress, and sex,
which one comes to your mind when
Valentine’s Day is mentioned?”
Males’ View
Stress
24%
\ Sweet
■ 58%
Females’ View
The other Valentine's "DQi|r
Stephanie Poole
A t least 1 in 3 women
and girls has been
sexually abused or
beaten in her lifetime. A
woman is raped every 90 sec
onds in the United States and
every 26 seconds in South
Africa. Every 21 hours there
is a rape on each American
college campus.
A woman is battered
every 15 seconds in the U.S.,
usually by her intimate part
ner. Over 33% of murdered
females are killed by their
partners, versus 3.6% of
males.
The U.S. Justice
Department reports that 1 in 2
V-Day actively promotes
and aids existing anti-vio
lence organizations and
events around the globe.
Independently, V-Day is
marked by an annual line-up
of projects and programs tak
ing place around Valentine’s
Day that raise awareness and
funds for the international
organization.
V-Day programs are sep
arated into distinct promo
tions—the College
Campaign, the Worldwide
Campaign, the Rape Free
Zone Campaign, the
International Stop Rape
Contest, and various others.
Recently, V-Day was able to
take action in Afghanistan,
rape victims is
under 18 years old,
and 1 in 6 is under
12.
The V-Day
web site lists these
statistics and many
more in an effort to
remind visitors of
the cause the
organization is con
tinually fighting—violence
against women and girls.
Formed five years ago as
a single Valentine’s Day cam
paign, V-Day has grown into
a fervent annual movement
with worldwide support. In
2001, Worth Magazine named
V-Day one of “America’s
Best 100 Charities”.
"Reading The Vagina Monologues helped
me realize that women should be
confident and proud of themselves and
their bodies, not because they please
men but because they are unique and
powerful in their own ways."
- Gabrielle Scronce ('02)
after years of witnessing
injustices against women
there, and co-hosted the
Afghan Women’s Summit for
Democracy in December of
2001.
The most recognized V-
Day initiatives are perform
ances of Eve Ensler’s Obie
Award-winning play “The
Vagina Monologues”. These
are organized by local volun
teers during V-Day’s nation
wide benefit season (currently
January 24 - April 13, 2002).
“The , Vagina
Monologues” is a play that
allows for no shame in cele
brating women’s intimate
body parts and calls out for
the end of female suppres
sion. It points a finger at
society for cautioning women
about their sexual desires,
charging this denial of female
sexuality as the source of
many women’s embarrass
ment, loss of sexual confi
dence, and low self-esteem.
The play draws on.
humorous,
frank, emo
tional, and
sometimes
shocking per
sonal mono
logues based
on interviews
with women of
different back
grounds and
It makes no
Joan Marcus
Eve Ensler performing The Vagina Monologues, an empowering
play that points a finger at society for cautioning women about their
sexual desires.
life stories.
attempt to attack the male
gender, seeking only to affirm
female liberation from social,
emotional, and physical
abuse.
Duke University, taking
part in V-Day’s College
Campaign, will be presenting
“The Vagina Monologues” for
its third year in a row on
February 14th and 15th.
Duke’s production is directed
by students and performed by
a large cast of students along
with University staff volun
teers. Proceeds from this per
formance will be donated to
the Durham Crisis Response
Center, Duke’s Office of
Sexual Assault Support
Services, and groups benefit
ing women in Afghanistan.
UNC is promoting an
entire week of events begin
ning on February 11th with a
benefit concert and conclud
ing, after the February 15th
and 16th “The Vagina
Monologues”' performances,
with a silent auction.
Many other local col
leges and universities, includ
ing Davidson, Elon, Wake
Forest, and Meredith, are also
presenting “The Vagina
Monologues” in February.
NC State University is offer
ing a later production of the
play on March 5th and 6th.
Tickets can be purchased at
university box offices.
For more information about
The Vagina Monologues, see
H’WH’. \a2inamonolopues com
and for information about V-
Day, see www.v-davoiY