RADAR ALERT:
V-Day Hypocrisy at Roger Williams University
For the last decade there has been a concerted effort to convert
Valentines Day from a celebration of loving relationships between men
and women into a day reserved for vilification of males as
perpetrators of "rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation
and sexual slavery."
(http://www.vday.org/contents/vday/aboutvday)
More offensive than the play Vagina Monologues is the way college
administrators have censored light-hearted criticism of the play,
even as they turn a blind eye to the gender-based contempt that Vagina
Monologues fosters. These administrators seem less concerned
about evenhanded treatment of all students than they are about
pandering to powerful interest-groups.
The best example of this hypocrisy was the reaction of Roger Williams
University to the spoof The Penis Monologues, as reported
by Christina Hoff Sommers in her National Review article Why Can't
They "Just Get Along"?
(http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/sommers200505020808.asp)
Sommers reports that Edward J. Kavanagh, Provost of Roger Williams
University, was so scandalized at being greeted by the play's costumed
penis-mascot "Testaclese" that he seized the costume and placed
students Monique Stuart and Andy Mainiero on probation for creating
the spoof.
V-Day, the New-York-based organization devoted to getting campuses
nationwide to do Valentines Day productions of Vagina
Monologues, reports that Roger Williams University is making the
school's fieldhouse available for this year's Vagina Monologues
presentation. (http://events.vday.org/2006/College/Roger_Williams_University)
Do we conclude that Provost Kavanagh, so offended by the
appearance of the spoof penis-costume, is unperturbed by the
prospect of the RWU Fieldhouse filled with women loudly
chanting "C**t", as happens in the play's "Reclaiming
C**t" section? Does the RWU administration approve of the
idea that child-rape is good rape if it's committed by a
lesbian, as sympathetically portrayed in "The Little
Coochie Snorcher that Could"? Does the RWU administration
think the university should encourage its female students to
abandon studying for successful careers and instead seek
fulfillment as dominatrix prostitutes specializing in whips,
handcuffs and ropes, as glowingly portrayed in "The Woman
Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy"?
RWU president Roy J. Nirschel has stated, in an open letter to the
university community
(http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10394) "the
university will not condone publications that create a hostile
environment for our students and community." What could create a more
hostile environment for male students than Vagina Monologues'
consistently hostile portrayal of males as brutal oppressors?
This week, please write a letter to your local newspaper pointing out
how Roger Williams University is a prime example of the hypocrisy
demonstrated by colleges all across the country that permit
hate-speech from favored members of the student community while using
an iron fist to suppress simple satire from disfavored groups.
If you happen to know sympathetic RWU alumni, please ask them to write
letters too.
Date of RADAR Release: February 12, 2006
Want to improve the chance that they'll pay attention to your letter? Click here.
R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://www.mediaradar.org
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