Cohen was filled to capacity this past weekend for The Vagina Monologues, which was an unequivocal success. Director Zoe Hastings and the cast should be applauded for tackling the daunting text without the slightest shred of self-consciousness or uncertainty, either of which would have doomed the production. At its essence, The Vagina Monologues was an activist event as well as a theater production, and it is proof that an important political agenda can be conveyed passionately in an accessible and constructive manner. This is the second year it has been performed on campus, and it has the energy and momentum to become an annual tradition.
All campus activists should take note of this tremendous effort. It opened just about a week after University President Larry Bacow e-mailed the community calling for a higher level of "civility and discourse," which was followed by students' misguided efforts to embarrass him in front of Trustees at the Dewick luncheon. John Dowling wrote a Viewpoint last week, properly censuring some of the luncheon's more vocal participants, and mentioning the jarring statistic that nearly a third of the $582 million raised during John DiBiaggio's capitol campaign came from Trustees.
It's slightly ironic that some students who are advocating for changes that require money would offend those who are most likely to provide it; at its worst, the incident could have cost the University millions in potential donations. And the activists could lose their dwindling threads of respectability by arguing that if money does not go
to their causes, the school might as well not receive it.
The trustees won't be back until May, but administrators will continue to be confronted by activists on a regular basis. For that activism to be meaningful - as demonstrated by The Vagina Monologues - rather than irrational will demand considerable thought and a concerted effort. The Tufts community is undeniably and understandably becoming less sympathetic to activists as they act rashly and irresponsibly on their whims.
Administrators are concerned about diversity, but activists can play a crucial role in adding a greater sense of urgency. If that is to happen they must work with the system rather than by senselessly berating it. Tufts has a strong activist tradition, but its heading
towards virtual irrelevance, fast and furiously. The Vagina Monologues was a weekends respite, and hopefully an example which could reverse the trend.
