Editor:

Lately the school has been involved in a large amount of drama about a student production of “The Vagina Monologues.”

Yes, Loyola is a Catholic university. But everyone is missing the main word in that title: university. We, as a place of higher learning, have a responsibility to educate ourselves in as many ways as possible.

Yes, “The Vagina Monologues” presents material that goes against Catholic teachings. As freshmen, we are required to take a course in world religions, and the majority of that class is spent learning about things that go against Catholic teachings.

Loyola does not endorse the beliefs of those other religions we learn about, and it does not endorse all of the actions talked about in “The Vagina Monologues.”

What the university does endorse is the necessity to learn as much as you can about as many subjects as you can.

As an artist, especially one who has to perform pieces that were written hundreds of years ago, I am confronted with the problem of offensive texts on a fairly regular basis.

Some of the things in “The Vagina Monologues” are shocking and offensive to some people. However, when College of Music put on its production of Wolfgang Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” it was only met with praise. No one questioned the performance, even though the plot of the opera revolves around women being spiritually weak, irrational and deceptive. Does that mean that the faculty believes women are deceptive or weak? No. Of course it doesn’t! But the good things in “The Magic Flute” overpower the bad.

Obviously the administration at Loyola is not saying that they condone the seduction of minors by adults. But they are finally saying that they encourage women to have a voice.

My last point would be that it was one small, student performance to raise money for a charitable institution. Anyone who was offended by the play was not forced to go. “The Vagina Monologues” was not forced on anyone.

The sad problem is that the beliefs that “The Vagina Monologues” are trying to break down are forced upon women every day. Young girls are taught that even the names of their body parts are taboo. In the U.S., a woman is raped every 90 seconds, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, 2000.

If a production of this play can help even one woman stand up against injustices to women, then the world is better for it.

Sarah StickneyVocal performance junior