John Carroll University says pro-abortion Guerrilla Girls on Tour has "decidely Christian message"

http://carrollnewsonline.com/files.php?id=520&cat=2 ^ | March 4, 2004 | Carroll News Staff

[Diago]

The Guerilla Girls on Tour have visited our campus, and it has caused quite an uproar in the community.

The Guerilla Girls On Tour is a theater group, started in 2001, that utilizes humor and wit to enlighten the audience about social issues like racism and sexism through workshops and dramatic performances. Each performer assumes the name of a deceased female artist and wears a mask to conceal her true identity.

In a recent interview, one of the performers explained, “We don’t want to lecture or hit our audiences over the head with the dreadful stats that exist about the lack of parity for women and artists of color. So we try to develop pieces that use smart humor to make people laugh first and think soon after.”

However, people in the John Carroll community have confused the touring troupe with a group known as simply The Guerilla Girls. Although there are quite a few similarities in the two groups, they are completely unaffiliated.

The Guerilla Girls are a group of hard-core anonymous feminists who tour the country in gorilla masks—never revealing their faces.

The Guerilla Girls, whose views some people believe to be “anti-Catholic,” will not be making a stop at John Carroll.

“People are getting angry about things that just aren’t true,” said Rev. Edward Glynn, S.J., John Carroll University president.

Glynn has received several letters and e-mails protesting the group’s appearance on campus. It’s the wrong group, though, he said.

The office of public relations on campus has issued a statement clarifying the mistake and reassuring concerned students and citizens that The Guerilla Girls On Tour is wholesome and fun, with a decidedly Christian message.

The group’s mission statement is “changing the world, one sexist city at a time.” Their message and performance have racked up rave reviews from universities and newspapers across the country.

“Guerrilla Girls On Tour’s satirical antics skewer the sexism of the theater world,” said Alisa Solomon of The Village Voice.

Kaitlin Gray of SUNY Fredonia called it “one of the most uplifting events I have ever attended.”

The Guerilla Girls On Tour brought their multimedia presentation to the Dolan Center Auditorium Tuesday evening. The event was sponsored by John Carroll University’s Department of Political Science, the program in Applied Ethics, the Department of Developmental Programming and the Women at Noon committee.

For more information on the Guerilla Girls on Tour, check out their Web site at www.guerrillagirlsontour.com.

[Diago]

The March for Women

http://www.marchforwomen.org/about/index.php?PHPSESSID=3a8ef758818e77d774d30d7f26fb18b8



Guerrilla Girls On Tour as co-sponsor [Yes, "Guerrilla Girls On Tour" - not just "Guerrilla Girls"]

http://www.marchforwomen.org/cosponsors/list.php

The time is right for a public demonstration of historic size in support of reproductive freedom and justice for all women. Threats to these rights have never been so systematic and coordinated, and the lives and health of women have never faced such peril. On April 25th, in our Nation’s Capitol we march to uphold – Choice, Justice, Access, Health, Abortion, Global and Family Planning.

[Diago]

Please contact these guys and ask them to set the record straight:


carrollnews@jcu.edu

[Diago]

A left wing blogger blows the whistle on John Carroll:

http://mrstevebeers.tripod.com/blog/index.blog?entry_id=248403

The Guerrilla Girls recently came to the John Carroll campus, causing some controversy.

Here are some relevent links on the Guerrilla Girls:

-http://www.guerrillagirls.com/
-http://www.guerrillagirlsontour.com

Here is the Carroll News article covering the event:

-http://carrollnewsonline.com/files.php?id=520&cat=2

Here is a piece written by yours truely, which will hopefully appear in the next issue of the Carroll News:

Are the Guerrilla Girls on Tour truly a separate organization from the Guerrilla Girls? The Guerrilla Girls on Tour is an “independent and unaffiliated organization.” This, however, is a technicality. The Guerrilla Girls On Tour, as they explained in their presentation, were formed by members of the Guerrilla Girls as a separate branch of the organization, which would focus on developing plays, performances, and workshops. In fact, the entire first half of their presentation was dedicated to the past posters and political actions of the Guerrilla Girls, often referring to them as what “we” did. Many of the posters that they showed can be found on the Guerrilla Girls website. They, like the Guerrilla Girls, are anonymous, gorilla mask wearing performers whose goal is to illustrate the rampant racism and sexism in the art world. The distinction between the two is purely organizational, which would be clear to anyone who actually attended the performance.

So, why has this false distinction between the two groups been emphasized so strongly by our administration? This distinction was a narrative used to serve an ideological myopia. How else could they reconcile allowing a group that even hints at protecting female reproductive rights to speak on campus, but by distorting their message and denying it ever happened? This distinction also cleverly pacifies groups like the Cardinal Newman society without actually standing up to their ideological harassment and protecting free speech on our campus.

The point of all this is not to say that the university made a mistake in allowing the Guerrilla Girls on Tour to perform. On the contrary, it is to say that if John Carroll University wants to consider itself a serious academic institution or prepare students for the diversity of opinions that exist outside of the Catholic Church, it has to allow the free exchange of ideas. No one has to apologize for being a feminist, being pro-choice, or being against racism. Our university should not be apologizing for brining in such speakers or distorting their message to appease groups like the Cardinal Newman Society.

This incident, coupled with the controversy surrounding the Vagina Monologues, raises many questions about free speech, students’ rights, and women’s rights that our administration needs to answer. For example, must the community be assured before every event that a performance will be “wholesome and fun, with a decidedly Christian message”? Who decides whether a group is “hard-core” feminist or “anti-Catholic” and what do these terms actually mean? Are speakers who support reproductive rights entirely banned from our campus and why must this be a litmus test for every event? Why not ask every guest speaker if they support the death penalty, and censor them accordingly, since the Catholic Church is against that as well? If students wanted to form a pro-choice organization as a way to engage in dialogue with the campus supported right to life group, would they be censored in a similar fashion? If these question remain unanswered, it will leave any dissenting voices open for intimidation and censorship.

The attempt to distort the message of the Guerrilla Girls on Tour by separating it from the feminist views of the Guerrilla Girls is misleading and clearly driven by ideology. It should be pointed out that the turn out to both the Guerilla Girls on Tour and the Vagina Monologues was excellent. If the Carroll News had bothered to ask John Carroll students who actually participated in the Guerrilla Girls workshop or saw their performance, they may actually find the group was well received by many students. What all this shows is that we, as students, want the free exchange of ideas and are not interested in seeing the world through a filter of ideological censorship. Rather than wear the blinders of censorship that keep our beliefs from being challenged, we want and need events supporting diverse views in order to tackle important issues and engage in constructive dialogue. A campus culture that hinders this process is ripe for indoctrination, rather than education.

[Diago]

Is Father Glynn knowingly lying about this?

John Carroll University (OH)
Rev. Edward Glynn, S.J., President
20700 N. Park Blvd., University Heights, OH 44118
Phone: (216) 397-1886
E-mail: eglynn@jcu.edu

Also, the comments came from the public affairs department:

J. Gerard Sheehan
Director of Public Affairs
216-397-4565
jsheehan@jcu.edu

Jerry Sheehan, yes the same guy, is a Futurechurch leader (scroll two-thrids down):

http://www.stmalachi.org/newsletr/2002/07-28-02.htm

CSM CONGRATULATIONS
to re-elected FutureChurch Leadership Council coordinator Jerry Sheehan and newly elected coordinator, Marla Loehr. The same to the CSM’s Steve DeJohn and Ann Marie Cronin, also serving as FutureChurch council members. (Steve heads the program committee and Ann Marie is an at-large member.)

[Diago]

Fellow freepers,

The JCU administration is clearly misleading angry parents and alumni about the true nature of the "Guerrilla Girls on Tour."

Contrary to what the John Carroll public relations department states, an organization that co-sponsors a pro-abortion march in Washington is not "wholesome and fun, with a decidedly Christian message."

Send an e-mail to JCU President Father Glynn with a cc to the Carroll News and the PR Department. The blatant lies and abortion promoting nonsense must end:

eglynn@jcu.edu
carrollnews@jcu.edu
jsheehan@jcu.edu



John Carroll University (OH)
Rev. Edward Glynn, S.J., President
20700 N. Park Blvd., University Heights, OH 44118
Phone: (216) 397-1886
E-mail: eglynn@jcu.edu



J. Gerard Sheehan jsheehan@jcu.edu
Director of Public Affairs
216-397-4565

[nickcarraway]

You copied the bloggers article down, instead of the one you wrote yourself.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The Guerilla Girls are a group of hard-core anonymous feminists who tour the country in gorilla masks—never revealing their faces.

A feminist KKK?

[catholic]

When I read that they wore masks I also thought of the KKK.If what you are pushing is really the best for everyone why mask your true idententy?

[Dajjal]

Bumpus ad summum

[Diago]

"The office of public relations on campus has issued a statement clarifying the mistake and reassuring concerned students and citizens that The Guerilla Girls On Tour is wholesome and fun, with a decidedly Christian message."

I bet everyone at the pro-abortion march co-sponsored by Guerrilla Girls on Tour will get a big laugh over that quote.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

demonic!

[Coleus]

`

[fatima]

Coleus,Thanks for the info bump.

[Barnacle]

The time is right for a public demonstration of historic size in support of reproductive freedom and justice for all women. Threats to these rights have never been so systematic and coordinated, and the lives and health of women have never faced such peril. On April 25th, in our Nation’s Capitol we march to uphold – Choice, Justice, Access, Health, Abortion, Global and Family Planning.

Are these your views?

[Diago]

Sorry for the confusion.

The Guerrilla Girls on tour are sponsoring this event:

http://www.marchforwomen.org/cosponsors/list.php

If you follow the link, it states:

"The time is right for a public demonstration of historic size in support of reproductive freedom and justice for all women. Threats to these rights have never been so systematic and coordinated, and the lives and health of women have never faced such peril. On April 25th, in our Nation’s Capitol we march to uphold – Choice, Justice, Access, Health, Abortion, Global and Family Planning."


***


not my views

[Mr. Silverback]

You know, I really should make a gorilla joke here, it's almost a moral imperative with a callsign like SILVERBACK.

ProLife Ping!

If anyone wants on or off my ProLife Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.

[Diago]

Thanks Silverback.

On Mark Shea's blog someone said Father Glynn's e-mails are now bouncing back. But I hope everyone will check to make sure:

eglynn@jcu.edu
carrollnews@jcu.edu
jsheehan@jcu.edu



John Carroll University (OH)
Rev. Edward Glynn, S.J., President
20700 N. Park Blvd., University Heights, OH 44118
Phone: (216) 397-1886
E-mail: eglynn@jcu.edu



J. Gerard Sheehan jsheehan@jcu.edu
Director of Public Affairs
216-397-4565

[Coleus]

Guerrilla Girls appear at University for March 21 lecture and demonstration

The Guerrilla Girls, a collective of New York-based performance artists/social activists, will appear at Washington University for a lecture and demonstration at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 21, in the WU Field House in the Athletic Complex.

For almost 15 years the Guerrilla Girls have served as social conscience to the art world. Although the group's membership is said to include well-known artists and gallery owners, the members conceal their identities behind snarling gorilla masks in order to keep the focus "on the issues rather than our personalities."

The group has earned a wide audience for its fiery critiques of sexism and racism, both in the art world and in the culture at large.

The lecture is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Gallery of Art, the School of Art, the Women's Resource Center, the Student Union, the Women's Studies Program in Arts and Sciences, the Department of Art History and Archaeology in Arts and Sciences and the Department of Performing Arts in Arts and Sciences. For more information, call 935-4523.

[Diago]

bump