Free The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler Page A

an absolutely wonderful job. We were laughing and crying, some gave me goosebumps listening to them. We had just under 200 people show up and every one of them was blown away. I don’t think they knew what to expect but after the show there were so many people coming up to me saying they wished they had brought this person or that person, that more people needed to hear the message. I just can’t say enough. We’ve received so much positive feedback already. We had a really diverse audience and they were so receptive and supportive, it was just a great feeling all around, and I’m sad it’s over! But we all can’t wait until next year! I need to sleep for about a week, then I’m ready to start planning again! Karen, just say the word! —Michele, Northern Illinois University College of Law, February 19, 1999 We realized we would have to do another year of the College Initiative. So we did.
    Three things distinguished the V-Day 2000 College Initiative from its predecessor: sponsors, the Empowerment Workshop, and worldwide penetration. After sponsoring a small but significant event in
    1999, the basis for a layout in its February issue, Self magazine decided to sponsor the entire 2000
    Initiative. Planned Parenthood Federation of America came on board as the primary sponsor of the 2000
    Initiative’s special event—the Empowerment Workshop. On November 6, 1999, students from a hundred of the participating schools came to New York to attend a workshop led by Eve.
    Eve taught the
    students how to mount a production of The Vagina Monologues at their schools, and then they went to see her perform the play at the Westside Theatre. Students spent the weekend immersed in V-Day events, cultivating friendships with their fellow College Initiative participants. In feedback after their local V-Day events, many who had come to New York highlighted the Empowerment Workshop as one of
    their favorite Initiative experiences. While the V-Day 1999 College Initiative participants were from the United States and Canada, some of the participants in 2000 came from other parts of the world, considerably expanding V-Day’s reach. One hundred and fifty schools joined us, from San Francisco State University in California and Cornish College of the Arts in Washington State to Oxford University in England and Friedrich Schiller Universit.t in Germany. Based on figures reported by the participating schools, it is estimated that about 65,000 people attended V-Day 2000 College Initiative events and that, through these events and the associated publicity, more than 15 million people were introduced to The Vagina Monologues and V-Day around the world. When the figures from both College Initiatives are added to those of people who have celebrated V-Day through celebrity benefit performances of The
    Vagina Monologues worldwide, the total number of people who have been touched by VDay in the three years since its launch is simply unimaginable. Once again, Initiative participants clamored for a repeat performance. So I will be directing the program for the third year in 2001. While most of the people who volunteer to coordinate the College Initiative at their schools are college-age women, there are also some men, some professors, some campus theater directors. Some are feminists and some are just regular folks with no previously embraced causes. For various reasons, all see the merit of bringing V-Day to their communities. And despite the fact that all participating schools mount performances of the same piece—The Vagina Monologues—each event is unique. Some are intimate staged readings. Others are extravagant theatrical and social happenings. Many schools offer additional activities, information, and resources in conjunction with their events. There are “Vagina Dialogues” following performances. There are sexual-assault counselors on site. There are fund-raisers and parties. There is music and art and dance. Arizona State University constructed