While most folks take pride in celebrating the traditional kind of “V-Day” with cupids and chocolates, the UW-Milwaukee community has found a way to unify in celebration of a different type of “V-Day,” with an all-student production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues on Feb.19-20.

The Vagina Monologues is a global movement founded by Ensler to curb violence against women. Going on its seventh year, UWM is one of several college campuses that produces an annual benefit production of The Vagina Monologues in honor of V-Day; a day that increases awareness, raises money, and revitalizes the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.

What you might not already know is that The Vagina Monologues is a significant event for UWM, specifically to the campus Women’s Resource Center (WRC), the main sponsor of the performance. The message behind The Vagina Monologues is intimately intertwined with much of what the WRC stands for – uniting women from all different backgrounds to share in an experience that holds relevance for each and every one of them.

“[The Vagina Monologues] is empowering; it doesn’t shy away from negative experiences that women have based on their gender. It is the combination of addressing difficult issues, without shying away from them, while also embracing the positive aspects [of being a woman]. It is proof of community, which not only helps us better understand ourselves, but also a larger community of women,” said Cathy Seasholes, director of the WRC.

This semester, The Vagina Monologues is the signature event for the WRC, but it’s not the only function they have up their sleeve. On Feb. 24, the WRC sponsored an event called, “An Evening with Sapphire: When Push Comes to Precious: The Novel, The Film, The Reality,” a lecture given by Sapphire, author of Push, which was adapted to the big screen in the 2009 drama film, Precious.

However, beyond event sponsorship, the WRC provides the student population with a host of other services to “enhance awareness and understanding at UWM of the diversity of women’s lives and experiences, and the role gender plays in everyone’s life,” according to the WRC website. This includes: lending out literature from their 1,000 plus book library, providing information on any question someone – male or female – might have, counseling and mentorships, as well as safe and friendly haven for any and every student on campus.

“People can get out of the center a lot of different things, based on what they’re looking for. [The students] just need to know we’re here, that this space exists, because it doesn’t on all college campuses. Everybody is so nice, open, and welcoming here. It would be almost impossible for anyone to come in here and have a bad interaction,” said Beth Robinson, a teaching assistant in the history department as well as a WRC intern.

The WRC is located in Union Room WG93, near the Terrace Café. Their office hours are from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.