The Chronicle

Brett Starkopf.
Staff Writer


      Weather in Chicago isn’t like weather in other cities in the country. Here, January can be hot and June can be freezing and oddly enough, it wouldn’t be that surprising. As the “never-ending” winter seems to be finally coming to a close, and spring lurks just around the corner, sports fans are anticipating the start of America’s pastime’s next campaign. As always, neither the cold nor the snow have slowed that great cross-town debate over who is the better baseball team: Cubs or White Sox. While all that ranting and raving is going on, a community college team 45 miles north of the city has steadily become one of the best junior college teams that nobody has heard of.


      After winning the Illinois Skyway Conference last year and falling two wins shy of playing in the championship game, the Lancers main goal for this year is for the team to get better.


      “Every team makes the post-season tournament,” head coach Ken Kelly said. “As long as you don’t lose your last game, you’re national champions and that’s a great thing.”


      The task won’t be easy. Junior college teams change as frequently as, well, the weather. Every year coaches see new players come in. Returning players, who didn’t start the prior season, assume the responsibility, and the sophomores leave to continue their education at four-year universities. This leaves coaches with the difficult duty of constructing new strategies to approaching the season every year. The coaches are faced with a difficult mission.


      “That’s one of the challenges coaching at a junior college,” Kelly said. “Every year you have to reload. It’s not like coaching at a four-year school where maybe you’ll lose 20 to 25 percent of your team but you still have a strong nucleus coming back and guys who’ve been in the program.”


      The season is a mere two weeks away and the team has been working on defending their conference title since winter break ended. Unfortunately, with the inclement weather, they have to resort to indoor practice and have yet to touch the sacred ground that binds the team together, unlike the previous two years when the coaches took the team to Puerto Rico.


      The team would head down and spend 8 to 10 days practicing and playing inter-squad games, as well as minor league Puerto Rican teams, so the coaches can get a feel for the roster and know what to work on before the season starts. This year the team wasn’t able to travel, and with the field still blanketed by snow, it has been difficult to put a lineup together because they have yet to step onto the field.


      “This year will be a challenge because we have a lot of new guys who we really haven’t seen play that much,” Kelly said. “We don’t play an extensive fall schedule. I want our guys to get academically comfortable and understand their priorities. We make academics a priority.”


      The trips were not only educational for the coaches, but for the players as well. It helped the teammates build chemistry. With the amount of players CLC has that aren’t from the United States (14 this year, 10 last year), the majority of them Spanish speaking and from Puerto Rico, the trips were a learning experience. The team would live with their Puerto Rican teammates’ family and become accustomed to their lifestyle, something coach Kelly, who preaches education, wanted the players to get out of the trip.


      “The two years we did it, every (player) who is local (to the area) or is from the United States came back feeling significantly more appreciative of what they have and also have a greater appreciation and respect for the international and Puerto Rican (players),” Kelly said.


      However, this year the roles are reversed and the players from the States get to show their other mates around Chicago. Aside from practices, the Americans are on their own showing the internationals around.


      “I don’t want to know about (what they do) as long as they don’t break the law and are ready for practice then there shouldn’t be a problem,” Kelly said.


      The Lancers play a more hard-nosed style of ball that’s fun for everybody and can be summed up in one word: dominating. Last year’s team had a few power players who were able to light up the scoreboard quickly and give the team the necessary push to win, while leading the nation in almost all offensive categories.


      “I hate (sacrifice) bunting,” Kelly said. “Why would I trade an out for a stolen base? I’m not taking the bat out of a player’s hand. I don’t believe in giving up outs.”


      Offensively, Kelly thinks his team is better than last year’s league leading team. The only thing the team is lacking is an Albert Pujols type player who can carry the team on his back. As a whole, he believes this team is better than last year’s team, offense included.


      The major strength of this year is the team’s depth. Last year, the lack of depth and post-season injuries affected their championship run. In the team’s last game last season, they were unable to play five players because of injuries. This season, the team has at least two players at every position, leaving Kelly the ability to put out a different lineup every game. His lineup management will give every member of the team the chance to play, which Kelly really enjoys, but makes his job all the tougher.


      “Last year you could just pencil most of the same guys in every day and not worry about it. This year we’re not going to do that,” he said.


      However, the one thing Kelly doesn’t worry about is the team’s wins and losses. Ultimately, the goal of the players is to continue their education at a four-year school. Academics are made a priority over baseball. But when asked about what his team’s on-field goals are, Coach Kelly simply said, with a smile, “win two more games.”

Alvin Sandique
Staff Writer

      On any team in any sport, you have your go to guys, your role players, and then you have those players that come out of the woodwork and surprise everyone. You get one of those hidden gems that blossom into one of the team’s key players. The CLC men’s basketball team has one of those guys in Prince Herdle.


      Herdle is a native of Lake Zurich and is in his first full year at CLC. He is a transfer student from Harper College, where he spent one semester.


      He is one of the reserves for the men’s basketball team and stands at 6’6”. While it may not show in his play, this is his first full season of playing organized basketball.


      Last fall, on a trip to the gym, Herdle was intrigued by the thought of being on the basketball team. He approached the coaches and they welcomed him with open arms. One of Herdle’s main reasons for joining the team was that he was looking for a new challenge.


      Herdle believes that playing for the school kills two birds with one stone.


      “The main benefit of being on this team is being a student athlete. I get to play basketball, at the same time get to receive a quality education,” Herdle said.  


      Not only is he taking advantage of every opportunity the school has presented, he is enjoying his time as a student athlete. “(Playing basketball) is very fun and interesting playing against quality competition from other places in the state,” Herdle said.


      “Ever since I started playing, the game has always been fun. The more I have been playing, the more fun I’ve been having. Other than having fun playing the game, being around quality teammates and having that team camaraderie has done nothing but add to the fun playing for this team.”


      What is even more amazing about this athlete is his drive and willingness to work.


      “What drives me to continue playing is the fact that I am always trying to get better. I am very curious to see how high my ceiling is as far as playing basketball is concerned,” Herdle said.


      The criminal justice major has some high expectations for himself on the basketball court and realizes what he has to do in order to fully tap into his potential as a basketball player.


      “One of my goals for next season is to make the starting five,” Herdle said. “One of the ways I plan on starting is putting in a lot of work in both the weight room and the gym in the off season. I want to show my coaches as well as my teammates that I deserve to be out there on the court.”


      He is a very genuine team player who is ready to break out and give a huge contribution to the basketball team.


      “I am always willing to help my team in every way possible,” Herdle said. “When coach (Hirsch) needs me to perform, I am ready and waiting.”


      Herdle hopes that his experience playing for the Lancers basketball team will catapult him into playing ball in the future at a bigger school.


      “I do want to play college ball elsewhere after my experience here playing with CLC,” Herdle said. “Preferably a Division I or Division II school.”


      Playing for the school has not come without any lessons being learned.


      “One of the most valuable lessons I learned while playing college basketball is to never quit and always finish what you started,” Herdle said. “Playing ball in college has made my ability to manage my time a lot better. The heavy load of schoolwork combined with the commitment you have to have playing a sport in college has helped me in that aspect of being a student athlete.” 

Kat Dankowski
Staff Writer


      The National Junior College Athletic Association sponsors many sports at CLC, but men’s volleyball is not among them. Lack of participation is one main cause for the absence of a men’s Volleyball team.


      Support for those who are interested in joining a team starts with Coach Rob Caliendo and Assistant Coach Rosa Wisler of the women‘s volleyball team. They have attempted several times to start a club team, which would give players an opportunity to compete in a league.


      “The whole thing just fell apart,” said Coach Wisler. “We had people, but in the end they just didn’t show up.”


      In 2006, there was a men’s club team. However, the team was forced to fund their own travel and pay for their uniforms. The team eventually dispersed.


      Now in her fourth season at CLC, Coach Wisler has never seen a men’s volleyball team established.


      Former women’s volleyball player and CLC alumni Ashley Wisler said this could be due to lack of publicity.


      “I knew people that were interested but there was never anything posted.” she said.


      The college is not to blame. Involvement is key to forming a team. Coach Wisler promoted the opportunity through announcements at freshman orientation, calling players that expressed interest and posting signs.


      “It’s all about getting together and forming a team.” said Coach Wisler.


      Coach Wisler has also put together fundraisers and tournaments at CLC for her younger team, Rolling Thunder.


      As the only team without a co-ed counterpart, the women’s volleyball team is affected in different ways.


      “It would be nice to have a men’s team” Coach Wisler said.


      Some male players have been practicing with the women’s team for the past season. This gave the women’s team tough competition and some one to fill in during practice if there is a missing player.


      Future players will have their own decisions to make. Coach Wisler is confident, knowing that many high schools in the area have started up their own men’s volleyball teams, that soon there will be one at CLC.

Salvador Galvan
Staff Writer
 
      With basketball season over and spring just around the corner, spring sports are coming and the girl’s softball team is preparing for the upcoming season.


      Head coach Susan Garcia said the team has been working hard this off-season and is ready for the season to start. The girl’s softball team is coming off a successful year last year finishing second place overall in the conference and fourth in the state.


      It wasn’t the first time the team had places in the top four in the state, in fact four out of the last five years, the team has finished second, third twice, and fourth place. This season they hope to win the conference and capture the state title, as they did in 2008.


      There is still time in the preseason for preparation and the team will be traveling to St. Louis for a preseason tournament. They will leave March 11 and will return March 14. They play a total of six games in two games.


      Sophomore Kellie Kraft said, “St. Louis should be fun. Florida was a blast and it’s always fun to be on the road with the team. It’s good bonding experience for teammates.”


      When asked if team captains had been named yet Coach Garcia said, “Captains emerge before season to see who leads the group.”


      With four returning sophomores and one new sophomore pitcher, Coach Garcia has high expectations and said with one year experience at the college level they need to step up and help newcomers to the team.


      Coach Garcia is excited for the new season to start and has talked about some of her players and their positions.


      She has three pitchers that also play other positions, including catcher. She said the pitcher-catcher match up really depends on who is pitching, since catchers call the games differently for each pitcher.


      She talked about incoming freshman Maddie Riordan, who plays second base but played short stop for Lakes High school, and described her as “an overall infielder, a contact hitter with good defense and offensive skills.”


      Monika Wedick, a freshman from Grayslake Central, is a pitcher and Coach Garcia sees good things to come from her. She also described Kelly Silver, Wedick’s teammate at Grayslake Central, as a feisty catcher and outfielder. Coach Garcia is looking forward to working with all her players and improving overall as a team


      Kraft, has a positive outlook on the upcoming season and goals this year, both on a personal level and as a team.


      Having played softball for a number of years including four years at Warren Township, Kellie plays catcher and third base. She said the team needs better communication on the field and plans on the team getting stronger and more familiar with each other. She likes the teams’ strong infield and said they need a little improvement in the outfield before the season opener March 19 against Triton College.


      This will be Kraft’s last semester at CLC, so she plans on enjoying her last season playing softball. Her goals are to have a higher batting average, commit fewer errors, and hit more homeruns than she did last year. She said her new teammates need to adapt to new situations because the level of competition in college is much different than high school.


      “Don’t give up on yourself, everyone makes mistakes so keep your spirits up, because if they’re down it will affect the team,” she said.


       She wants the team to have fun together and keep each other motivated setting a good example and sticking by it.


      Every year is a different team and she said the team gains new qualities. She said each year is a different experience and she really can’t compare them.


      With the season opener less than three weeks away, the team is excited to go to St. Louis and play together with two goals in mind: win and enjoy the experience together.

Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor


      In the summer and winter Olympics combined, there are 41 sports. Those 41 sports do not include breakdowns such as gender or team sports versus individual. If it did, the number of sports would be far greater than 41. 

      Of the 41, only the equestrian teams in the Olympics are co-ed. Men and women compete head-to-head.   

      This division in athletics may cause friction between the sexes and inequality in sports and not just because athletics are considered to be a man’s world. Some “women’s” sports, such as dance, disapprove of men who want to join. 

      There’s not much to tell about the history of women and professional sports. Women created the All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League during World War II, but it disbanded after the men returned home from war because people didn’t want to watch women play ball if men were available.  

       Another league for women’s baseball was formed in the early 1990s, but it was dissolved in 1998. Women tried to keep a professional volleyball league alive, the Women’s Professional Volleyball Association, which was also dropped in 1998.  

       The most notable among women’s professional sports are soccer, softball and basketball. In Chicago there is a women’s soccer team, the Chicago Red Stars, a basketball team, the Chicago Sky and a softball team, the Chicago Bandits.  

       The Red Stars are part of the Women’s Professional Soccer League, along with seven other teams. The Sky is part of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). There are only 12 teams in the WNBA, including Chicago. The Bandits play in the National Pro Fastpitch. There are only five teams in this league, including Chicago. 

        Of course, those are just team sports. Women are free to compete in individual sports such as tennis, bowling and golf, among others.  

        How many professional men’s sports are out there? To name a few, there’s the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League. Men receive more publicity, more support and better pay than any of the women’s professional sports. The men’s leagues also are better represented in society. 

         This issue isn’t something that recently reared its ugly head. The Olympics began in ancient Greece around 776 BC. Women were not officially a part of the Olympics until they were held in France in 1900. They were only allowed to participate in tennis and golf. Since then, women have slowly begun to compete in the same sports as men, but rarely ever against them.  

           This leads to the belief that women are too delicate to play rough sports, or simply incapable of playing as well as men.  

          Female athletes are still trying to catch up to the popularity of their male counterparts. If sports advocates take the time to learn about female sports leagues, there’s a chance that more sports could become professional for women, the same way that men are involved in professional sports.  

          The big sports information providers like ESPN and Comcast Sports Net should welcome any opportunity for more business. Women’s leagues would love the publicity and the sports TV, radio and magazines could lure in more viewers, listeners or readers. It’s a win-win situation. 

          The leagues themselves need to get the word out about their teams. If they have winning teams, specifically in the Chicago area, they should be advertising and promoting their stuff to interest a wider number of people. If teams do something cool and fun, people will talk about them, and word of mouth is the best form of marketing. 

           People need to promote women’s leagues. If the media hypes up these leagues, it is likely that more girls will want to be involved in sports and go on to play them professionally. 

             Changes need to happen early in children’s lives. Young girls need to take up sports that are predominately male, such as baseball or hockey. Sure, girls can pick up softball and play on their high school girl’s softball team, but it’s not the same as baseball. Both softball and baseball have their difficulties and their similarities, but they are still different. Women’s softball is fast pitch and the ball is bigger. In baseball, there are a variety of pitches and a baseball is small compared to softballs. 

              If a girl wants to play baseball, she should be able to. If a boy wants to play softball in high school over baseball, he should be able to. I’m willing to bet that if schools or athletic facilities promoted different sports, they would get more willing participants. 

              No one, especially children, should be restricted. It’s unfair to deprive a child of their will to play a sport. 

              Even at CLC there are restrictions. There is no men’s volleyball team but there is a women’s team. Women play softball at CLC and men play baseball. 

              The stereotype that only men can like, and play, sports needs to be eradicated. Women can talk sports with the best of men, and there are some men who just don’t like sports. Men who don’t like sports are just as normal as those who do, same as women who like sports are normal and becoming more common in today’s society.

Laurie Torres 

Carolyn Dimmick
Staff Writer



      My Digital Photography III class, led by Professor and Communications Arts Dean Roland Miller, went to the“Beyond Pixeltorialism” series March 4.


      As a group, most of us really enjoyed all the pieces because of their diversity and in the sheer beauty of their creativity.  Some felt they were too safe and didn’t really ride the edges of controversy, others thought the message was confusing, a few deemed the messages were right on target and certain students considered the images disturbing.


      This happened quite a lot with Doug Manley’s works, but I think he rather enjoys making people feel a bit uncomfortable in a strange way, kind of like a car crash, you don’t enjoy the view, but you can’t quite tear your eyes away. 


      I found them all to be very interesting, the images were diverse and the styles eclectic.  They were all captivating in their portrayal of the artist’s vision.  Some more so than others, depending on how the audience viewed them.


      They all had something to offer.  My personal favorite was Todd Bertolaet’s work.  I really appreciated how he presented photos with color juxtaposing black and white and the use of photo corners, it was visually appealing.  The writing and doodles lent a personal touch I found quite nostalgic. 


      The rest have special characteristics as well. I found Michael Brown’s lenticular optics to be wondrous and they speak to the child in me.  I like Kelly Connell’s photos in their honest portrayal of the identities of everyday people.  Mark Allen Francis’ took me back to summertime and county fairs and I appreciated the portrayal of point of view. Ben Gest’s photos exemplified use of space as well as personal interaction or, in this case, lack thereof. 


      There was something for everybody to see and to enjoy.  I really appreciate when our school showcases the talents and vision of artists of all genres, but I especially appreciate when we show photographic works because it gives me an idea of what direction I may want to take my work once I leave these hallowed halls and take what I have learned from my amazingly talented photography professors out into the world of fine art photography.  I look forward to the next interesting exhibit.  
 

Dave Balson
Opinion Editor 
 
      “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his first inaugural address.


      I find it nearly impossible to read those words without dreamily drifting off to dwell on their profundity. Beyond its sharp-yet-zen phrasing, the line embodies the highest ideals of the American Century. It’s easy to see why the people who first heard it would make FDR the only president elected to a third and fourth term.


      But few on that day could have predicted how prescient his words would prove. In the 1950s, well after FDR’s passing, Sen. Joe McCarthy used the fear of communism to bring political rhetoric to a dangerous extreme. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration used fear of terrorism to expand its power, justify torture and make the case for war in Iraq. And in 2010, some conservatives are combining both of those fears for political gain.


      At a recent private meeting in Florida, the Republican National Committee presented their 2010 strategy to their core fundraisers. In a paper copy of a PowerPoint presentation accidentally left at the hotel, later obtained by politico.com and reported March 3, the RNC suggested to fundraisers that they should appeal to the “fear” of small donors and the “ego” of big donors.  Some of the more cynical slides encouraged the conference attendees to sell the fear of socialism and use an image of the president’s face painted like the Joker from the “The Dark Night.”


      The Obama-as-the-Joker poster, with “SOCIALISM” printed across the bottom, became an instant hit at Tea Party rallies. Racially charged and factually conflicted, it fits the Tea Party movement perfectly. If painting the face of the first black president is not motivated by racism, then the poster’s message is that the president is like the Joker: unpredictable, psychotic, chaotic and ruthless.


      The Joker was all of those things. Politically, we would call him an anarchist, the very farthest thing from socialism on the political spectrum. I know times are tough and that dictionaries cost more than a whole box of tea bags, but it would really help the discussion if people could start looking up words before they start using them.


      It is one thing to have your opponents call you on fear-mongering and quite another to let slip that it is an integral part of your marketing plan. But fear has been a political currency for generations and the presentation, while embarrassing, is hardly surprising.


      More worrisome are the accusations that the Obama administration is too weak on, or even sympathetic to, terrorism. The worst of these have come from Keep America Safe, an ultra-conservative organization run by Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and Bill Kristol, a neo-con author and activist and a stalwart promoter of the war in Iraq.


      Cheney’s group has launched an ad campaign against certain lawyers working in the Justice Department for having previously represented detainees from Guantanamo Bay. A video released by Keep America Safe portrays Attorney General Eric Holder as seeking out these terrorist sympathizers to staff the Justice Department. The video refers to the seven appointees as “The Al-Qaeda 7” and asks, “Whose values do they share?”


      I’m glad you asked, Liz. It would be my great honor to offer the answer.


      They share the very deepest and noblest of American values, from our founding to present. They share the values of John Adams, who represented British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trial. Adams, the nation’s first vice president and its second president, later said the experience was, “one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country.”


      His founding brothers no doubt shared these values. The document they drafted to specifically define American values, the Bill of Rights, is chocked full of the stuff. In fact, it’s some of the most important, cherished parts of the Constitution.


      Providing legal representation to a defendant is the only way to ensure a fair trial. A fair trial allows the disinterested hand of justice to decide the case. Regardless of the charge, a person must have the means and the right to be heard and to plead their case.


      The arguments being made by some conservatives—that suspected terrorists shouldn’t receive a fair trial, that they can and should be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, that they shouldn’t be tried where the crime was committed and imprisoned on American soil—are arguments against the fundamental principles of the Constitution.


      As un-American as it is to argue that these defendants are so guilty that they don’t deserve a fair trial, it is worse still to implicate their defense attorneys. By calling the “Al-Qaeda 7” terrorist sympathizers, we imply that lawyers are necessarily sympathetic to the crimes their clients are accused of committing. If that’s the case, this country is crawling with public defenders who are sympathetic to rape, murder and child molestation.


      And what about the judges who hear the case? The juries? The elderly court reporter, sympathetically clicking away on her little machine? Just look at her, an older woman, quietly writing her incantations in heathen shorthand, I know she’s a witch, I just know it!


      American justice derives all of its legal and moral credibility from a design that prevents prosecution from becoming persecution. One of the things that makes America great is the belief that right makes might, and you are innocent until proven guilty. Lawyers who defend those accused of terrorism are keeping America’s greatest values and virtues safe. The efforts of Liz Cheney and the actions of her father do better than any lawyer, indeed any terrorist, in undermining that safety.


      Terrorism, by its very definition, uses violence and intimidation to force a society to change its political ideology.


      Those who would allow terrorists to coerce us into disregarding our deepest principles are the ones who aid and abet the terrorists. It is they who are letting the terrorists win.


      Franklin Roosevelt’s “fear itself” quote usually ends halfway through his sentence. I think it both worthy and just that we let the man complete his thought:
      “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Megan Schroeder
Staff Writer


      Surrounded by strangers in a whirlwind of languages, confusion and overwhelmed by culture clash. This is how international students feel when they first arrive in a new country.


      Lais Gruman Castello, a 21-year-old CLC student and native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, had the same reaction when she arrived in America. She came here as an au pair to learn English and, like most college students, took a break to find direction in life.


      Her new direction lead her to Illinois, where she lives with a host family as an au pair- a person who works for the cost of staying she said which was the cheapest and easiest way to learn English.


       After the excitement wore off, her transition to America was fluid.


      “Everything was new and different, and it was just a surprise every day,” Castello said of her first impressions of America.


      The Brazilian, who had only seen snow in movies, had her first experience when the Chicago winter hit.


      “I was glad I got here when I did,” said Castello, who arrived before winter in 2009.


      Though CLC offers International study programs in places such as Costa Rica, China, and Jamaica, students cannot understand the experience of first coming to America, so we rely on feedback from foreign students to tell us what it’s like.


      Many people in foreign countries disapprove of America based on the stereotypes in their media. However, Castello was pleased to say that she saw this country, “not like what other people say.”


      “The things I was told about America were wrong.” Castello said. She thought that everyone was rich, snobby, slutty, and too proud to get their hands dirty. She learned over the months that these stereotypes were biased portrayals from television and comments about the War on Terror.


      Among her new experiences, the Brazilian native found that Americans were addicted to “tech gadgets,” and although they seemed to improve people’s lives, especially in emergencies, it also made them lazier.


      “It’s not just technology,” Castello said, “Even the grocery stores are packed full of pre-baked or ‘ready to go’ kinds of food.”


      In a fast paced society, it isn’t unusual for the public to expect so much from each other. But, to expect so much from foreigners is pushing the limit. Americans often expect foreigners to have a basic understanding of the English language when they arrive in the country, but that can take years of studying, just like any other language. Castello said she studied 5 years of English in school back in Brazil.


      Castello extended her stay to a year and a half to continue her education at CLC.


      To say that her experience has been good would be too simple. She has learned about another culture and opened her mind to different seasons, languages, religions, and schooling.


      She chose CLC for the same reason most students do it offers a good education at an affordable price. She has the chance to take classes she always wanted to, but didn’t have time or money before to do it she said.


      Although she thinks the winters last too long, that Americans eat too much junk food, have an odd gadget addiction, and live in a hurried atmosphere, she generally likes America. But even the greatest of places cannot compare with home.

Sarah Bigler
Staff Writer


      Looking around the audience of a performance of “The Vagina Monologue” is almost as fascinating as the play itself. Early in the performance there’s a moment where uncomfortable squirming turns to genuine laughter and emotion. Men and women often have difficulty talking about areas “south of the border,” but that disappears into entertainment and reflection.


      On March 11 the CLC Women’s Center put on their first student performance of “The Vagina Monologues.” CLC professors Lynn Harper and Mick Cullen directed the controversial play by Eve Ensler.


      Ensler is an American activist and survivor of sexual abuse. Her best known work, the Vagina Monologues, has been translated into 45 languages and has been performed all over the world.


      The play is a series of monologues originally performed solely by Ensler. The topic of the monologues, now performed by several actresses, is the vagina. The monologues explore topics of sexuality, rape, childbirth, sensuality, menstruation, prostitution, mutilation, several different names for the vagina, and the experience of an orgasm.


      Along with directors Cullen and Harper, the play was organized by the Women’s Center Director, Teresa Aguinaldo, Stephanie Santos Gray, an actor in the production, and other members of the faculty.


      Donations at the door of the show, along with sales of raffle tickets and half the proceeds from a bake sale helped benefit the CLC Women’s Center. The other half of the bake sale proceeds benefits women and children refugees of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The CLC Pride Alliance organized and created the bake sale outside the auditorium.


      “It’s an empowering show,” Aguinaldo said. “Probably just 15 years ago, you couldn’t say ‘vagina’ without getting embarrassed or looking around to see who was listening. But Eve Ensler changed all that.”


      The play has inspired a movement. V-Day, an international day of women’s empowerment and issues, has now been celebrated in 130 countries around the world including Asia, Europe, Africa and certain Middle Eastern countries liberal enough to welcome the play. V-Day is celebrated between Feb. 1 and Apr. 30 every year, and always includes a performance of the “Vagina Monologues.”


      The play includes the monologues, “My Angry Vagina,” a diatribe against tampons, pelvic exams and other uncomfortable things done to the vagina, delivered ferociously by Sheila White. “My Vagina Was My Village,” a two person performance by Emilee McGinn and Michelle Golden, recalls the devastating memories of a Bosnian refugee girl subjected to rape camps.


      Rachel Kelly delivered two monologues, one of which was “Hair,” about the obsession Americans have with pubic hair.


      Anna Chesman delivered “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could,” a now-homeless woman’s story of the love-hate relationship she experienced with her vagina as a child. After surviving rape and injury, she discovers her sexuality with a 24 year old female neighbor.


      Ruthe Dembinski’s speeches talked about the experiences of a uptight English woman taking a “Vagina Workshop,” and Ensler’s own experiences of witnessing the birth of her first grandchild.


      Gray performed the role of an elderly lady coming to terms with her sexuality in “The Flood.”


      The play includes some disturbing facts about the status of women around the world. Some facts are sensual, like the fact that the clitoris contains 8,000 nerve endings, making it the only human body part meant exclusively for pleasure. The play explains how the clitoris is more sensitive than fingertips, tongue and twice as sensitive as the penis.


      Other vagina facts are not as happy. According to the play, 200,000 American women are raped every year. A staggering number of women, 130 million each year, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, are subjected to the horrifying dangerous practice of female genital mutilation where much of the clitoris or labia is cut or removed, usually without anesthetic, with an unclean scalpel, knife or shard of glass.


      CLC’s ensemble cast was made up of women from all walks of life, different backgrounds and opinions. Each woman had her own story that brought her to the performance. Each woman talked about her enthusiasm for the play, and her own feelings of empowerment.


      “We’re a diverse cast,” Dembinski said of her and her cast mates. “We’re different ages, backgrounds, and educational levels. We have a little bit of everything, and no lack of emotion.”


      Dembinski is an aspiring stand-up comedian. She sees this opportunity as a precursor to doing an “open-mic night” at a comedy club, and hopes completing the challenge will boost her confidence in front of an audience.


      Many of the cast members expressed excitement about the opportunity to help out a good cause and increase awareness of women’s issues.


      “I wanted to help the Women’s Center,” actor White said. “I’m really involved in social service.”


      Dazalle Yvette’s monologue talked about a woman’s journey from a heterosexual tax lawyer to lesbian sex worker. It also included a series of demonstrations of orgasms.


      “The hardest part was having to do 19 different types of moans on stage,” she said. “I did the play because I wanted to take a leap. If this isn’t jumping in, I don’t know what is.”


      Michelle Golden talked about the play helped her heal from abuses in her childhood.


      “My experience in this play has changed me,” she said. “I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder last year. This was a way to challenge myself and speak out.”


      Golden, who has Cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, was told by her parents she would never find someone to appreciate her talents.


      “They told me no one would ever love me, that I wasn’t beautiful,” she said. “Now I know never to sacrifice how you feel. And now I’m engaged to a great guy that lets me just relax.”


      Aguinaldo estimates that 20 to 25 percent of CLC students have been victims of some kind of sexual abuse, domestic violence or sexual harassment.


      “That’s so frightening,” she said. “Sometimes women have lived with abuse for so long that they don’t realize that it’s happening to them or that it’s wrong.”


      “First and foremost, we want survivors to know they’re not alone, and know their rights and options,” she said. “The greater community also needs to know so that they can help other people.”


      The whole day came down to helping the Women’s Center help women. Their emergency fund provides women in difficult situations who find themselves financially hurt as well.


      “When it helps the Women’s Center, it makes all the difference,” Dembinski said. “If one girl doesn’t have to pay for her own rape kit because of the money we raised, it’s all worth it.”