PARAMUS, N.J. – According to anti-sexual assault group One Billion Rising, globally, one in three women will encounter physical or sexual violence during her lifetime – one billion in all. Activated by this sobering reality, Bergen Community College faculty, staff and students will perform two readings of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” as part of Women’s History Month at the institution and accept donations to benefit a local nonprofit committed to supporting victims of domestic violence.
The performances, in collaboration with global activist movements to end violence such as “V-Day” and One Billion Rising, will take place Wednesday, March 4 at 12:30 p.m. in room C-211 and at 6:30 p.m. in room A-104 p.m. at the College’s main campus (400 Paramus Road). Faculty, staff and students Jacqueline Behn, Iris Bucchino, Jeanine Conrad, Christine Dunning, Christine Eubank, Oliver Hancox, Leigh Jonaitis, Ilene Kleinman, Rebecca Maher, Maria Makowiecka, Julia Mantrana, Emma Margey, April Macchio, Ally MacConchie, Casey Troy and Annick Vasquez will participate in the performances.
The public events are free, but donations are encouraged. All proceeds will benefit the Center for Hope and Safety (formerly Shelter Our Sisters), a New Jersey nonprofit dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence. The Center assists female and child victims of domestic violence and emotional, economic, sexual and physical abuse. The agency provides emergency and transitional housing, emotional support and services focused on safety, empowerment and self-sufficiency, according to Center Executive Director Julye Myner, Ph.D.
For more information on the nonprofits and organizations involved, visit hopeandsafetynj.org; vday.org; onebillionrising.org; and facebook.com/vday.
The College’s Women’s History Month committee organized the performances to coincide with the institution’s annual celebration of women and V-Day, the global activist movement initiated by “The Vagina Monologues” playwright Ensler. The committee will also sponsor events throughout March, including a meet-and-greet with New Jersey Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (Tuesday, March 24, 6 p.m., room C-325), “book and brunches” and a keynote address by author Penny Colman (Thursday, March 5, 12:30 p.m., room C-211). Visit Bergen.edu for the full calendar of events.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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