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Friday, January 26, 2018 - Vol. 118 Issue 49
JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Tea Wheat courier staff
Western Illinois University introduces “The Vagina Monologues,” a global activist movement whose goal is to abolish violence against women that raises funds and awareness through the productions of Eve Ensler. “The Vagina Monologues,” is a play created from the powerful stories of women around the world, and its purpose is to act as a catalyst for the empowerment of women.
Eve Ensler, who based the art off the many interviews she conducted, wrote “the Vagina Monologues” in 1994. “The Vagina Monologues” tells stories of women with different identities that span from race, gender, sexual orientation, and more. This play empowers people to step up, and take action to help end violence against women, as this is the mission of the national V-Day campaign. V-Day is a movement that acts as a catalyst for these many forms of activism, and any funds raised are used to support local shelters and crisis
centers. The V-Day movement has raised over $120 million, and has also educated millions about the problem of violence against women. The first adaptation of “The Vagina Monologues” was performed at Western in 2001, and over the years the monologues have been gaining more popularity on campus. It is no surprise that the Women’s Center here on campus accepted the challenge of performing this wonderful play for the past 17 years, and now continues the tradition. “The Vagina Monologues” is com-
posed of many short monologues directly relating to sexuality and empowerment of women. Mychele Montgomery, a graduate student with the Women’s Center, said the monologues aren’t restricted for one gender, and men often times enjoy the monologues and the powerful spirits achieved from it. “The Vagina Monologues are enjoyable for men too,” Montgomery said. “The Vagina Monologues not only encompasses all different types of women, but also supports an inclusive environment where
all are welcome. Women of all shapes, sizes, majors, and academic credits will be found on stage this February, continuing the empowering tradition that is V-Day.” According to Lindsay Gleason, a senior at Western and president of Feminine Action Alliance has taken part in “The Vagina Monologues” for the past three years. The event is empowering to women and gives them a sense of hope and strength.
Monologues
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JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Nicholas Ebelhack editor-in-chief Despite steady declines in enrollment, Western Illinois University’s recruitment initiatives continue to find ways to reach markets across the state of Illinois. According to Director of Admissions Seth Miner, in contrast to other perceptions, Western has been increasing recruitment efforts across the state in order to attract more students despite an upward trend of Illinois high school
graduates seeking higher education out of state. “Each one of our admissions counselors are visiting the high schools, encouraging them to apply and building value with students, that ‘Western value,” Miner said. Statistics show that nearly half of all students who attend Western Illinois University come from the Chicagoland area. According to Miner, that results from a number of qualities, such as population shifts and the ease of access to Western from Chicago. “Forty-nine percent of our students end up coming from
the Chicago area, that’s where we are seeing a lot of our increase, but we have always had that pipeline, we are an Amtrak city,” Miner said. “When you look at high school graduate enrollments, you are seeing a shift from rural communities to urban communities, so you are going to see a bigger presence on campus from larger cities than from rural areas.” Outside of Chicago however, recruitment efforts continue. University Relations’ Darcie Shinberger said that Western continues to utilize diverse tactics in order to recruit
more students. “We don’t just focus on one area in our marketing campaigns, we focus on a variety of areas in a variety of mediums, from traditional such as newspapers, radio and television and digital,” Shinberger said. “We also do a lot of specialty advertising in Illinois, especially around the holidays such as in theaters throughout the state.” Additionally, Shinberger said that the university targets individual academic programs, such as law enforcement, in order to draw people to some of Western’s signature programs.
“We know for instance that the College of DuPage has a really successful law enforcement and homeland security focus so we are focusing marketing efforts there because we know at that school there are a lot of student interested in transferring into a four-year program,” Shinberger said. Students who attended theaters in Illinois in the surrounding states may also of seen specialty advertisements over the last few months.
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