Audrey Huynh – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 08:26:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Audrey Huynh – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Stanford Women’s Coalition presents The Vagina Monologues https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/10/stanford-womens-coalition-presents-the-vagina-monologues/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/10/stanford-womens-coalition-presents-the-vagina-monologues/#respond Wed, 10 Feb 2016 08:12:07 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1110577 A production of the "Vagina Monologues" will be performed by Stanford students next week.

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The Stanford Women’s Coalition (WOCO) is commemorating V-Day, an activist movement to end violence against women and girls, with two productions of “The Vagina Monologues” on campus.

“The Vagina Monologues” is a unique compilation of monologues that narrate an array of women’s vaginal experiences, including sex, love, menstruation, masturbation, orgasms, childbirth, female genital mutilation, rape and sexual assault. The play, written by American playwright, performer, writer and feminist activist Eve Ensler, was originally created to celebrate the vagina, women’s sexuality and women’s liberation. The play is now the main production of V-Day, Ensler’s international nonprofit organization, whose mission is to raise awareness about violence and sexual abuse against women and girls.

Dana Ritchie `16 recites a monologue during rehearsal (HANNAH KNOWLES/The Stanford Daily)
Dana Ritchie `16 recites a monologue during rehearsal (HANNAH KNOWLES/The Stanford Daily)

Through V-Day, people can receive access to “The Vagina Monologues” script in exchange for organizing a production of the monologues in their community and donating ticket sales from the performance to organizations that prevent violence and sexual abuse against women. Over the last decade, the play has become a popular production on college campuses across the United States, including Stanford.  

Ticket sales from Stanford’s production will benefit the Global Fund for Women, one of the world’s leading foundations for gender equality, which directly funds women’s human rights initiatives and grassroots women’s rights movements. The organization was founded by Stanford professor Anne Firth Murray in 1987.

Rebecca Aydin ’18, the executive producer of “The Vagina Monologues” and social media coordinator for the Women’s Coalition, selected the Global Fund for Women because of its Stanford connection and because of the profound impact of its work. Murray will introduce the organization before the start of at least one of the two shows.

Vanessa Zamy ’16, the director of this year’s production, believes that the play offers unique stories and perspectives that everyone should be exposed to.

“The Vagina Monologues is important because it gives people hope and it gives them an idea about the various vaginal experiences out there,” Zamy explained. “I want the audience to understand the diversity and range of experiences that people have with vaginas.”

Aydin, who first saw “The Vagina Monologues” with her mom and best friend in New York City, remembers how touched she was by the each of the stories.

“I was so shocked to be hearing about vaginas, literally out loud,” she said. “I hope that for the people seeing it for the first time, they have that sort of experience and that it is meaningful to them, whether or not they are in possession of a vagina,” she explained.

The production of “The Vagina Monologues” at Stanford has also provided many students with the unique and empowering opportunity of working with an all-women cast.

“It was really powerful being in a cast of women and feminists … people that want to talk about the experience of being a woman,” Aydin said.

Former director Noemi Berkowitz ’16 expressed similar feelings.

“It was really exciting for me to work with so many talented women in one room, which is something you don’t always see in theater,” she said.

Although “The Vagina Monologues” has been called a revolutionary feminist work, there has also been criticism in recent years regarding the lack of intersectionality among the different characters in the play. Within the collection of the monologues, the experiences of women of color and transgender women are significantly underrepresented.

Last year, Rachel Zilberg ’18, the director of the 2015 production, faced criticism among her fellow producers and other students on campus because transgender women were not represented in “The Vagina Monologues.”

Although Zilberg chose to continue with the production, it was important to her to openly acknowledge and address the flaws in the script as well.

“I suppose my way of dealing with it was trying to make that particular monologue [about trans women] as good and as hard-hitting as possible,” she said. “We also had an introduction before that show regarding some of the controversies so that we could show everyone we were being self aware about them.”

This year, an intersectional approach to the production of the play was a priority for Zamy and Aydin.

“We were very careful in the casting to specify what we wanted,” Aydin explained. “We said ‘female-identifying actors,’ which leaves it open to a wide range of the gender spectrum.”

In general, Zamy and Aydin worked to create a production that was diverse in all aspects of identity, from gender to sexual orientation to race.

While Berkowitz acknowledges that it is important to appreciate “The Vagina Monologues,” she believes that it is equally necessary to challenge the play and the status quo.

“We need to be asking questions: What parts of this [play] are still relevant? What parts of this feel like an outdated, lean-in, white feminism that is out of touch with the important issues today? What parts of this can we critique?”

Aydin and Zamy will to host an audience discussion after this year’s performances in order to facilitate such conversations.

Aydin hopes Stanford students realize that the show is important for all people.

“If you have a vagina, you like vaginas or you respect vaginas, which should be everyone on Earth, you’re going to like this show. It’s relevant whether you have a vagina or not,” she said.

WOCO will be hosting “The Vagina Monologues” at Roble Theater on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Contact Audrey Huynh at ahuynh14 ‘at’ stanford.edu

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Beyond the Line emphasizes ambiguity and diverse opinions https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/20/beyond-the-line-emphasizes-ambiguity-and-diverse-opinions/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/20/beyond-the-line-emphasizes-ambiguity-and-diverse-opinions/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2015 06:39:53 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1105269 This quarter, 17 campus organizations have requested that Beyond the Line (BTL), an interactive activity that engages Stanford students in discussions about controversial issues of race, class, gender and campus culture, be facilitated in their student groups or residential spaces.

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The Office of Diversity and Education has developed Beyond the Line in an attempt to get students to engage with sensitive issues (MISO KIM/The Stanford Daily).
The Diversity and First-Generation Office has developed Beyond the Line in an attempt to get students to engage with sensitive issues (MISO KIM/The Stanford Daily).

This quarter, 17 campus organizations have requested that Beyond the Line (BTL), an interactive activity that engages Stanford students in discussions about controversial issues of race, class, gender and campus culture, be facilitated in their student groups or residential spaces.

BTL was launched last fall by the Stanford Diversity and First-Generation Office (DGen), in collaboration with Stanford Residential Education. Since then, dozens of student groups and Stanford faculty have participated in the activity, including multiple fraternities and sororities, as well as ethnic theme houses and members of the Stanford administration.

BTL was first developed by a team of Stanford faculty and students, led by associate dean and director of DGen Dereca Blackmon ’91. However, the activity is not an entirely new concept, and although their names are similar, BTL is a separate event from the well-known Crossing the Line activity held in dorms with freshmen.

“The activity we know here as BTL is something I had been using for years,” Blackmon said. “When I was first introduced to it, it was called Agree/Disagree, and lots of people I know who do training and workshops all around the country were using it.”

Following a year of intense social activism and turmoil on the Stanford campus, Blackmon realized it was time to bring a similar program to Stanford students.

“I think what happened was that we had so many things we wanted to discuss at Stanford and issues that came up, and we were looking for a way to engage those issues in a format that allowed multiple people to speak,” Blackmon said. “So I immediately thought of Agree/Disagree, and we sort of tailored that to what the needs at Stanford were.”

During the summer of 2014, Blackmon worked with Residential Education as well as with current students to determine what issues were most important and salient on the minds of Stanford students. They paid special attention to the issues that Blackmon describes as “the touchy subjects that we want to talk about but we don’t really know how to talk about.”

In the first version of BTL, the program booklet included approximately 35 different statements. However, only 10 to 15 are used in a single BTL activity, and they are usually tailored to the specific interests of each group. These statements are continuously revised as the DGen Office receives feedback from Stanford students and faculty who participate.

During a BTL activity, an invisible line is drawn down the middle of a room, and one side is designed as the “Yes, I agree” side while the other side is designed the “No, I disagree” side. Students are then given a series of controversial statements with which they must choose to agree or disagree. Following this decision, several students are given the opportunity to explain to the rest of the group why they chose the side that they did. Throughout this dialogue, students are encouraged to switch sides if someone says something that really resonates with them and causes them to see the issue in a different light.

The program has received both positive feedback and criticism among Stanford students. While many participants found the experience moving, others struggled with the ambiguity of some of the statements and expressed discomfort with the format of the discussion.

“Some of the questions were really confusing, which is part of the problem I had with BTL,” said a junior RA in an all-freshmen dorm who preferred to remain anonymous to avoid conflict with her residents. “The way they’re phrased, they can be interpreted differently, and depending on how you interpret, you stand on different sides of the line, but you have the same thought process about the issue [as the people on the other side].”

According to Blackmon, the ambiguity in many of the statements exists for a reason.

“Ambiguity is entirely intentional because it’s a reflection of life experience,” she said. “The ambiguity is real in life.”

As an example, one of the questions often asked in BTL inquires whether it is offensive to tell a person of color that they are “articulate.”

“The people standing on the yes side interpreted it as someone saying ‘Wow, you’re SO articulate,’ which obviously is an insult. And the people on the no side interpreted it as ‘no, articulate is a compliment, and I would love to tell that to anyone,” the junior RA said. “It just means that you’re impressively educated –- completely unrelated to your color. That’s just really confusing, and to have people on the opposite side think that you’re thinking something you’re not actually thinking was frustrating.”

Blackmon said she designed that statement with the intention of provoking discomfort and, hopefully, increasing people’s awareness about their effect on others.

“People are not necessarily trying to be offensive when they say certain things, but because they’ve never lived a life where things like that get said to them over and over and over again, they have the privilege of not having that experience,” Blackmon said. “And so they’re completely unaware and unintentionally offending people. It’s not about not offending people; it’s about being more aware of your impact on others.”

Some students also struggled with the structure of BTL, in which only a few representatives from the “yes” side and the “no” side are allowed to explain their position.

“Sometimes the person speaking on your side would be on the side for a different reason then you, and then you were represented by this person whose ideals didn’t match you at all,” the RA said. “It was really uncomfortable to be misrepresented like that. I just didn’t like that label being placed on me and being uncomfortable with the way it fit.”

Blackmon said this diversity of opinion, even on one side of the room, is inevitable, and important to explore.

“That, to me, is part of the point,” Blackmon said. “I think every single BTL I’ve done, I’ve said ‘I want you to notice that there’s people across from you who are nodding, and then there’s people who are next to you who and are like… I don’t agree with that at all, and that’s not why I’m over here.’”

Despite some mixed opinions, however, many students see BTL as an important way to start conversations that might not otherwise be started.

“BTL asks more about personal opinions or beliefs, which can be heated, but at the same time, it exists in more of an intellectual space rather than an emotional space, which is a good place to start dialogue when you’re not super close to each other and don’t know where you stand,” said Annie Pham ’16, an ethnic theme associate in Okada.

Julian Alvarez ’17, an RA in an all-freshman dorm, agreed.

“I like that BTL is sort of a communal way to bring out these questions that need to be asked,” Alvarez said. “Because you wouldn’t, for example, eat lunch with somebody and ask them these questions. For some people, it wouldn’t really come about any other way.”

This year, based on an idea from the senior class, the DGen Office plans to expand BTL with the introduction of a new model, a “mini” BTL. It will include a smaller, more intimate version of the traditional activity followed by a facilitated dinner discussion.

Blackmon said she and her team hope to dispel several myths surrounding conversations about diversity, including busting the myth that it’s impossible to have these conversations with people of different beliefs and backgrounds. Ultimately, BTL hopes to challenge the way Stanford students think.

“I feel like Stanford students are being primed to be leaders, and I want to develop our emotional intelligence and our ability to be curious and not think that our role as intellectual leaders is to quickly form an opinion and a good, strong defense for that opinion,” Blackmon said. “The way we’ve been taught is to defend our opinion, not to constantly rethink it, but that’s what college is all about.”

 

Contact Audrey Huynh at ahuynh14 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Teach for America CEO Villanueva Beard discusses education https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/12/teach-for-america-ceo-villanueva-beard-discusses-education/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/12/teach-for-america-ceo-villanueva-beard-discusses-education/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2015 07:47:00 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1104672 Stanford students gathered to hear CEO of Teach for America (TFA) Elisa Villanueva Beard last Thursday, to share her wisdom as one of the two keynote speakers for Social Impact Week, hosted by the Business Association for Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES).

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Teach for America CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard spoke to BASES on Thursday (TIFFANY YONG/The Stanford Daily).
Teach for America CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard spoke to BASES on Thursday (TIFFANY YONG/The Stanford Daily).

Stanford students gathered to hear CEO of Teach for America (TFA) Elisa Villanueva Beard last Thursday share her wisdom as one of the two keynote speakers for Social Impact Week, hosted by the Business Association for Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES).

In her opening remarks, Villanueva Beard turned to a quote from Teddy Roosevelt and urged Stanford students to “get into the arena, dare greatly, and lead.” As the sole CEO of TFA, after co-CEO Matt Kramer stepped down in September, Villanueva Beard has 17 years of experience working with the organization. TFA now consists of over 50,000 corps members and alumni and reaches a network of over one million students each year, spread across 52 communities in the United States.

“We believe that every kid should have access to equal opportunity and should have an equal shot in life, and we know that education matters so much to that” said Villanueva Beard.

Villanueva Beard experienced first-hand the consequences of a deficient education system. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, she faced many of the challenges associated with an impoverished, under-resourced community. She says she found herself painfully unprepared when she arrived at DePauw University to pursue her undergraduate degree. She also found herself frustrated at the number of friends back home who did not pursue college at all.

In her sophomore year of college, Villanueva Beard met a TFA corps member who inspired her to join the organization and take direct action against the severe educational inequality that plagued her own hometown and communities like it across the country.

After graduating from DePauw, Villanueva Beard abandoned her plan to attend law school and become an attorney and instead joined TFA and became a first grade bilingual teacher to 36 children in Phoenix. In the classroom, Villanueva Beard found her passion and her call to action: educational equity for every child.

“The social impact we’re making is we’re creating conscious advocates, change agents, who are doing something about what I believe is the greatest injustice of our time,” said Villanueva Beard.

Over the years,  TFA has faced both doubt and criticism. Initially, Teach for America struggled to maintain diversity within its teaching corps. Educators and education policy experts alike argue that the new teachers are not properly equipped to deal with the issues surrounding race and poverty they will face in the classroom.

Under the leadership of Villanueva Beard, TFA has worked to address the lack of diversity. According to Villanueva Beard, this school year a record 49% of TFA teachers are people of color. Just over a month ago, TFA and Alpha Phi Alpha, a traditionally African American fraternity, announced an official partnership established to recruit more African American males to the classroom.

“[The next step] is to create an inclusive community within Teach for America, where all members feel connected with the organization at every level,” Villanueva said.

The organization is also continuing to develop and integrate what it calls a “culturally responsive pedagogy.” Now, before entering  the classroom, TFA corps members are trained in understanding self-identity and the social dynamics and diversity of culture they will experience in the communities they serve.

“What we’ve learned is that the way for you to become conscious about these issues of race, class, and privilege is to fully understand your own identity and your own privilege and your own bias,” Villanueva Beard said. “Our culturally relevant pedagogy is really at the core of how we think about educating our kids. In order to do that, you have to be aware of your own culture and identity.”

A common thread throughout Villanueva Beard’s Stanford address was the importance of gaining proximity to the issues of class, race, and privilege that cause such injustice in our community.

“I hear from all these young folks that they want to go into public policy, education policy, and I think that’s awesome,” Villanueva Beard said. “But please don’t do it without having real experience with the real people and the real issues because you cannot be confident in yourself, you cannot read enough to really understand these issues without that experience.”

Villanueva Beard highlighted the difference between learning about exploring social issues in the classroom and the way they exist in real life.

“You can read Savage Inequality, and if you haven’t, you ought to, but you don’t have a visceral action and understanding until you’re actually doing it, living alongside people. Stay proximate to these issues,” she said.

Villanueva Beard ended her address with a call to action, which she said is different for each Stanford student.

“As you prepare to think about your path moving forward, consider this: you are ready to lead, to get into the arena, to make an impact. The call to action might be different for each one of you…but it has to mean getting into the arena. Dare greatly and make change. I believe that you will.”  

 

Please contact Audrey Huynh at ahuynh14 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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