If you see me on campus in the next few weeks, I may surprise you. If you see me on campus in the next few days, I might be saying words you aren’t used to hearing. That’s because if you see me on campus in the next few days, I’ll probably be saying vagina.

I am the Chair of SMU’s 2009 V-Day Campaign, part of the global V-Day Campaign to end violence against women and girls. We do this through benefit productions of playwright Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues;” hence the word vagina.

So what’s the deal? Why the posters and signs and buttons and stickers and shirts and chocolate vaginas? Because something is seriously wrong with our planet and we need to stop it – because I am outraged and you should be too. The current UN statistic is that one in three women worldwide will experience violence in her lifetime. One in three. Ladies and gentlemen, that is bad. But what’s even worse is that you don’t care. Not that you aren’t a decent human being; it’s just that the world we live in views violence against women as something that just happens. Rape is there, like war and hunger. It’s unfortunate, but what can we really do?

My answer: say vagina. Our culture is one that still places a lot of shame on female sexuality. Think about it. Think about the last time you judged a girl who was a little too slutty. You know you have; I have too. Think about how uncomfortable I make you when I say vagina. Shame is still part of our culture. If you don’t believe me, ask the administration of this university that “asks” that we not sell those chocolate vaginas I mentioned on campus during the day. We’d hate to shock the university’s guests with that now, wouldn’t we?

So I’m saying vagina because it makes you think. It shocks you and gets your attention. It makes you a little uncomfortable and if I do it right it makes you think about why you’re uncomfortable. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I say vagina because it is a way to start owning it. It is a way to start becoming more comfortable with my body and letting other women know that they have that power, too. If you can’t be comfortable with your body you can’t protect it.

So I’m saying vagina. And on February 12th and 13th at 7:00 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Theatre, 14 amazing students and staff and I will be saying vagina to tell the stories of women in our performance of “The Vagina Monologues.” We will tell funny stories and sad stories and uplifting stories. We will raise money. Every penny of ticket costs will go to ending violence against women. I hope you will join us. I hope you will come and laugh and cry with us and experience these stories. I hope you will help us raise money for our cause and I hope you will join me in saying vagina so we can change the story of women.

Jessica Andrewartha is a sophomore theater studies major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].