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Volume #101 | Issue #16 | Feb. 13, 2017 | depauliaonline.com
Vagina Monologues premieres with sold-out shows By Pat Mullane Arts & Life Editor
In its 18th consecutive year at DePaul University, The Vagina Monologues, an episodic play originally written in 1994 by playwright Eve Ensler, premiered this past Friday and ran until Sunday at the university’s Lincoln Park Student Center. The play consists of a varying number of monologues performed by a number of women, that detail the different aspects of womanhood and the feminine experience. From subject matters that include sex and love, menstruation and orgasms, rape and sexual harassment, the overall theme of the performances represent the vagina as a tool of female empowerment in a society backed upon gender inequality. The proceeds from the show were donated to beneficiaries that deal with preventing sexual assault, including “A Long Walk Home,” “Rape Victim Advocates” and “Take Back the Halls.” For Julie Peacock, one of the directors of the show, the goal of The Vagina Monologues was not only to raise money for the beneficiaries but provide a sense of empowerment for all females in the room. “The Vagina Monologues has impacted, first of all, by giving me a sense of empowerment. That’s kind of the goal of the show, other than raising money for the beneficiaries, so it’s always nice to know it works, if not for everyone then at least for me,” Peacock said. “The second and more important way it has impacted me
MARCH ON
Photos by DANIELLE HARRIS | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul students rally for reproductive justice, pro-choice By Danielle Harris News Editor
Countering anti-abortion protests were scheduled at hundreds of Planned Parenthood clinics across the United States Feb. 11, with an estimated 300 demonstrators gathered outside the Thompson Center downtown for a rally in support of reproductive rights. About 10 DePaul students joined the rally, organized by the Chicago Campaign to Expose Crisis
Pregnancy Centers, Shout your Abortion 773, the Illinois Choice Action Team and the International Socialist Organization (ISO). The protests and counter-protests occurred over the weekend at a time of increased scrutiny over federal funding to Planned Parenthood and promises made by President Trump to defund the family planning organization — a pledge met by outrage from Democrats and praise from Republicans on Capitol Hill. The rally began at 5 p.m. and many
in attendance spoke on a microphone, condemning pro-life protesters and calling for an increased priority by lawmakers to protect reproductive rights for cisgender and transgender persons alike. It was an inclusive environment with demonstrators chanting, “Queer, straight, black, white, all unite for women’s rights.” Rachel Cohen, one of the rally’s organizers, said pro-choice activists must change their methods to best counter the “attack” on women’s reproductive rights
See MARCH, page 5
See MONOLOGUES, page 4
Pritzker Park refuge for crime and homelessness By DePaulia Investigation For Izamarie Montiel, a DePaul junior, the oddly-shaped park across the street from DePaul’s Loop campus is a place to avoid. “I always get off at the Harold Washington Library stop in the mornings to get to class, and I usually walk faster past those outside of the station to avoid any JESSICA VILLAGOMEZ | THE DEPAULIA confrontation. The threat is there,” Pritzker Park, located near DePaul’s loop campus, is supposed to be a Montiel said. green space in the city. The park, less than an acre
in size, has transformed into a lot littered with trash and a hangout for the Loop’s homeless population. The reality of this urban park is very different from the idyllic description on the Chicago Park District’s website, which calls the lot “a small restful green space in Chicago’s vibrant State Street Corridor.” The park is named after Cindy Pritzker, a member of one of Chicago’s wealthiest philanthropic families, who led a movement to expand Chicago Public Libraries. Her late husband, Jay Pritzker,
is best known for successfully expanding the Hyatt hotel chain into a global powerhouse. The park, at the intersection of State and Van Buren Streets, opened in 1992. Crime and vagrancy have given the State Street Corridor’s neighbors cause for concern. John Marshall Law School, DePaul University and other colleges with Loop campuses participated in a meeting last fall to express concerns about the park to
See PARK, page 6