City honors Penn Monologues

With last night’s Human Rights Award, Penn Monologues — a production created to address sexual taboos on campus — gained recognition from the city.

Students who organized Penn Monologues stood alongside 1979 Wharton graduate Mayor Michael Nutter at the Warwick Hotel.

They were honored with the Human Rights Award in Arts and Culture from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, a 60-year-old organization that works to promote civil and human rights in the city.

Penn lecturer Carol Tracy was also honored with the Sadie Alexander Leadership Award for her work to promote gender equality. Wharton professor Walter D’Alessio recieved the Lifetime Achievement Award in Corporate Responsibility.

Penn Monologues received its award for exploring human relations, building community, and encouraging diversity and communication across different culture groups, Program Coordinator for the Women’s Center Shaina Adams-El Guabli said.

Adams-El Guabli and Penn Womens Center Director Felicity Paxton nominated the show for the award last spring.

Student organizers were unaware that their work had been submitted for the award, Penn Monologues submissions editor and College junior Pallavi Podapati said.

The decision to nominate the production went beyond its mere content, Adams-El Guabli said, adding that “the entire effort promoted cross cultural communication and building identities.”

Penn Monologues began in 2010, inspired by The Vagina Monologues. Both are performed each year at Penn and supported by the Penn Womens Center.

“The Penn Monologues were born out of an awareness of a void following The Vagina Monologues,” Podapti said. “The Vagina Monologues were missing the voices of the Penn community.”

Whereas The Vagina Monologues is a series of monologues written by Eve Ensler, Penn Monologues is composed entirely by the Penn community and changes each year. Each monologue focuses on a different sexual issue or topic, including assault, homosexuality, infertility and orgasms, Podapti said, adding she was “overwhelmed” by the power of each story.

Penn Monologues was the only student group to win an award from the PCHR. Other honorees were organizations and individuals from Philadelphia that have made positive impacts promoting civil and human rights in the city.

“We want our students to be recognized for their hard work, ” Adams-El Guabli said, adding that the award also shows the city recognizes Penn as having an impact on the entire Philadelphia community.

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