Calling the production “inappropriate,” officials at St. John’s University turned down a student request to perform “The Vagina Monologues” on campus in February.
… The Rev. James Maher, vice president of student affairs at the Jamaica Estates campus, said the university took great care in weighing the issues, “and concluded that the performance, by its very nature, was unsuitable subject matter in keeping with Catholic teachings and our Vincentian mission.”
[Via A Long Island Catholic]
15 comments
Very glad to see that. It really ought not to make news…it should go without saying that a Catholic university would not allow such filth on the campus…sadly mine does…
Who says we need stem cells to accomplish spinal regeneration.
Clearly and succinctly stated, Rev. James Maher. Well done.
And another school sees the light….Yes!
They’re doing better than Notre Dame.
It’s great that they refused it, but is “inappropriate” the most we can manage these days? How about “obscene” or “depraved”? Do we have to pretend to weigh this decision carefully, as if there is something of value here? I’m sure that an evangelical college would have no problem calling things as they see them.
But another Vincentian University, DePaul University, triumphantly shows it year after year.
If we could just find a little unity among religious orders……
A piece of good news, a yet the Delight-in-Misery crowd will no doubt give us the Yeah-but-what-about-these-other-guys treament.
Surprisingly, this play is NOT being produced on campus at Saint Louis U this year. There is a student group that is performing the VM, but it will be off-campus.
Join the Cardinal Newman Society which fights this hard every year:
http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/cns/newsview/newsview/14
Yay! More people taking a stand. I got a letter to the editor published in my campus paper last week. The letter got read by the cast an crew of our production. This week I’ve been enjoying getting called a sexist bigot and a “jesus freak” by people ranging from the faculty member director of the production to the cast.
I struck a nerve, that is for sure!
Brian, I hope you’re familiar with the dc talk song ‘Jesus Freak.’ You’ve been complimented!
My Alma Mater proudly shows the VM’s and I am deeply ashamed of it – College of St. Catherine in St. Paul MN run by the CINO (Catholic in name only) Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet. How does a community of sister stray so far from thier vows that they don’t see this scandal? Don’t recognize they endanger thier souls and others?
Good for St. John’s! It proves that something good can come from Long Island.
Meanwhile . . .I teach English as a Second Language at a local community college on Long Island. Our students, mostly Latin Americans with limited English, were treated to a performance of this play during their lunch break. They were a captive audience; it was in their cafeteria in cold weather.
After lunch, I had to field their questions. You should have seen their reactions to the plot!
Over lunch? That even beats the “Legs and Eggs” (Sunday brunch, I think) of a local uh…strip joint?
Brian, you’ve been BLESSED! “Blessed are you when…”
“A recurring theme throughout the [Vagina Monologues] is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment, and the ultimate embodiment of individuality. The purpose of the piece is to promote a movement to stop violence against women.”
Wow, how obscene! I can’t believe schools would even allow children to hear of such ‘filth’ as stopping violence against women!
“Do we have to pretend to weigh this decision carefully, as if there is something of value here? ” …. Obviously some research needs to be done before judgement occurs. I sincerely hope you think ending violence against women and girls is something of value and are merely frightened away by the word “VAGINA.” (Which, I might add, is the correct medical term for a body part attached to every woman you know and in no way is used to be demeaning or ‘obscene.’)
What our world needs is education. I certainly don’t want to be 1 in 4 females that gets sexually assaulted. Awareness and education is the only way.